De ronde van '43 (Dutch Edition) [Dutch]

I received a copy of this book free when I purchased something else completely unrelated sometime in 1981 when I was living in Hengelo, Holland. At the time, I really didn't give it much thought, really. It was a very short book (paper-back) as books go. But I was living in Holland as a missionary for my church for 2 years, and anything to help me learn the Dutch language was a good thing. As it happens, the subject matter delt with Nazi-Occupied Holland and the problem of where to hide a 13 year old Jewish girl. "Ronde" refers to the bike ride a young father makes with this girl on the back of his bike, going from door to door all around the district, attempting to find a place for this girl, in the face of opposition from people whom he thought opposed the Germans. Things don't really go well as the day progresses, in all kinds of weather, until at the very end, this father of so many children of his own, decides just exactly where this girl really belongs... A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet Miep Gies and shake her hand and look into her blue eyes and tell her "thank you" in Dutch, for all she did to save the lives of Anne Frank and her family. I have been often to that house in Amsterdam. A couple of years later, I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz, Poland and see the ovens, gas chambers... Words do not describe those horrors. I often think of "De Ronde van '43" and the many, many un-sung heros that came out of that terrible war. If anyone wants a very good little read, of a very scarry, terrible time, and a visit into the hearts of frightened people, but of the courage and love that was to be found there as well, this is a book that will give you some of the insight I have been privaliged to see second-hand from first-hand witnesses. It will reassure you that in the very face of evil, in a land with no hiding places, even there, a hiding place full of love can be found, with determination. My throw-away book is a very tressured little item now, and I am grateful I still have it today, to read when I desire a good, true-to-life story. Here, in my opinion, is a story worth the silver screen, indeed! Allan Beamer Provo, Utah USA