De Kom's grandfather was a slave; as a child, he heard stories about what the white Dutch had done to the Black Surinamese during the time of slavery. Throughout his life, he resisted the stigma of inferiority. He was active in the anti-colonial movement, married a white Dutch woman, and, after his forced emigration to the Netherlands, joined the resistance in 1940–1945. Through the life story of Anton de Kom, aided by conversations with his children among others, an unknown part of the history of Suriname is told.