Vista, CA—Most of us have heard of Corrie Ten Boom are awed
by how she and her family risked (and lost) their lives to help Jews. But few
have heard of Anje van Tongeren. I had not heard of
her until I read The House of Blood and
Tears, a compelling, scary and true story of Anje van Tongeren and her
mother who helped save hundreds of Jews in Holland during Hitler’s takeover
during the second World World.
Anje van Tongeren’s mother,
Hillie, was an extraordinary woman with great kindness and compassion. In spite
of a difficult family situation, she never lacked a positive word to say and
was always available to help those in need. It is not surprising, then, that
she did not hesitate to join the underground resistence against the Nazis in
the 1940s Netherlands. And since 12-year-old Anje was all too eager to help, Hillie’s
strong convictions led her to bring her daughter into the fight too.
Lenore Eidse, newswoman turned
novelist and author of The House of Blood
and Tears (Westbow), uses her clear writing style to recount the story of
the Netherlands under siege in the 1940s. She craftfully introduces the reader
to several points of view, Hillie’s and Anje’s being at the forefront. But Anje
is our antagonist and our greatest sympathies lie with her (which makes sense
since Eidse wrote her specific story after spending many hours with her).
Says Eidse, “The dreaded word
‘Occupation’ began to rule the Dutch people’s existence. Secrets, lies, the
concealment of Jews, were all considered acts of treason and could condemn
their fates. The consequence of their involvement was costly in Hitler’s
Holocaust; but the cost of losing their homeland to the Nazis was higher.”
Given the turbulence in the world
today, the brewing hatred and threatening wars—as well as the push to “erase”
history—The House of Blood and Tears
is relevant. I highly recommend it. The book is well-written and a
page-turner—and it also provides a much needed visit back into to History to
remind us of what could still happen today and that God must be our ultimate
focus to get us through.
For more information about The House of Blood and Tears, visit: http://www.westbowpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.aspx?bookid=SKU-000724427
and also https://houseofbloodandtears.wordpress.com.
This article also appears in Assist News.
Janey DeMeo M.A.
Copyright © September 2017
http://janey-demeo.blogspot.com
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