Mietje Bontjes van Beek She was borne in Bremen on May 6, 1922 and spent her childhood in Fischerhude. She studied graphic art in Berlin and fine arts in Hamburg; thereafter, she untertook study excursions to Switzerland, England, USA and Italy. In 1982, she returned to Fischerhude. There, she still works productively in the studio of her grandfather, the artist Heinrich Breling. Around 1941, Mietje Bontjes van Beek and her sister Cató were engaged in humanitarian help for French prisoners of war. During this time in Berlin, her sister also was in contact to German Resistance fighters. Cató was imprisoned therefore and killed by the Nazis in 1943. Mietje escaped arresting, because she was in Fischerhude at that time for curing an illness.