The Silent Historian (Dutch: Het zwijgen van Loe de Jong; lit.

[3][4][5] De Jong, a Dutch documentary filmmaker[6][7][8] wrote and directed this inquiry into the life and motivations of her grandfather, Loe de Jong, a historian and television personality whose books and presentations regarding events in the Netherlands during World War II made him a celebrated national figure.

After his death in 2005 at the age of nearly 91, the family discovered that Loe had been hiding letters and other personal documents concerning his twin brother, Sally, a self-sacrificing physician who died during the last months of the war.

Also included are clips from conversations and reminiscences which television presenters Ivo Niehe and Ischa Meijer conducted with Loe de Jong in the early 1990s.

Daan spent a difficult childhood and adolescence moving in and out of foster homes, while Abel was raised in a happier atmosphere, living with a rural family in the countryside.