Things We Couldn't Say

$19.95

Written by James C. Schaap The story of Berendina (Diet, pronounced as Deet) Eman, a young Dutch woman who, with her fiancee, Hein Sietsma, risked everything to rescue Jews imperiled by Nazi persecution in occupied Netherlands during World War II. During the years that Diet and Hein aided the Resistance,...

Product Type : Print Book

Availability : 593 In Stock

Quantity :

Subtotal : $19.95

Written by James C. Schaap

The story of Berendina (Diet, pronounced as Deet) Eman, a young Dutch woman who, with her fiancee, Hein Sietsma, risked everything to rescue Jews imperiled by Nazi persecution in occupied Netherlands during World War II.

During the years that Diet and Hein aided the Resistance, their courageous effort ultimately saved the lives of hundreds of Jews. The first-person narrative vividly captures the gripping events of her brave saga - from her initial engagement with Hein Sietsma in the Resistance operation, to her arrest and imprisonment at the Vught concentration camp, to the final grim toll of the war that devastated all of Europe.

Diary entries that Diet and Hein logged during the war as well as excerpts from personal letters that passed between the two young lovers detail their thoughts and emotions throughout the years. Here is a story that has all the emotional impact of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and all the drama of Corrie Ten Boom’s ‘The Hiding Place.’ As told to author James Schaap, who as a professor, taught English at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa.

The title 'Things We Couldn't Say' is currently gaining relevance again as governments assume a role as arbiter of the discourse on subjects it favours and of those it deems 'hateful'. During WWII, Diet and Hein lived in such a society where 'walls had ears': a careless word of criticism of anything Nazi could easily lead to incarceration or worse.

Hardcover, 400 pages, Illustrated, postscript, a Dutch heritage and WWII resistance history title. Reg. $24.95