Everyone wants to be remembered — this is the central theme of the new book by the bestselling author of The Monuments Men, Robert Edsel — and in this remarkable story we learn that this fundamental human desire is not easily realized. But one road to remembrance is directly tied to how much meaning we can draw from the past, and often, we learn, this is a function of how vividly it is experienced.
Edsel brings this theory vividly to life, digging deeply into the history of how the Dutch survived the Nazi invasion and the four long years of occupation until the Allied forces finally brought liberation to them. By knitting together personal narratives with a warm recounting of history, this award-winning master storyteller delves into the lives of twelve people who were part of this time and place, and brings us right into the action and the emotions they engendered.
His research into their letters and diaries and the historical records that archived their courage and their pain, both on the battlefield and inside their homes, offers a clear window on the brutality of war and the great power of gratitude. For the Dutch made hugely unusual efforts to thank their liberators, and the measures they took, melded together with their grief, coalesces in this volume into a transcendent reminder of the humanity we all share.
Edsel begins his book with photos and brief bios of the twelve people he has chosen to illustrate his story. They are as they were on May 10, 1940, when German tanks rolled into Western Europe and the Nazi invasion began. These include a twenty-five-year-old professional soldier from Texas, a fourteen-year-old member of the Oglala Lakota Nation from South Dakota, nineteen-year-old twin brothers from South Carolina, and a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl from a small Dutch village.
All these sons and daughters tell a unique story of World War II and the enormous power the Allied forces wielded in the Netherlands in their attempt to turn back the tide of totalitarianism. And all these characters in the book, carefully chosen for their unique qualities, weave together the lives of the fallen who are buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, the final resting place of the more than 8,200 American personnel killed in the liberation of the Netherlands and the attack against Germany. It is through their eyes that we see what actually happened there, and come to realize how it is we are part of the story through our shared humanity.
Overall, the writing is gentle and tempered yet deeply emotive at times, both styles creating power in the other. The narrative is organized into five sections, traveling from “Freedom Lost” to “Love and Remembrance,” each part offering new insights and information that fits seamlessly into the one before and paves the way to the next.
Endnotes, a detailed bibliography, an index, photos, captions, and credits help bring the story into focus by adding to the logical arc of the story line and showing us how the moving parts all fit together into a cohesive whole.
Edsel is the author of four widely acclaimed non-fiction books, and the recipient of numerous awards and medals for his writing. This deeply moving work is likely to earn him and his coauthor several more.
Linda F. Burghardt is a New York-based journalist and author who has contributed commentary, breaking news, and features to major newspapers across the U.S., in addition to having three non-fiction books published. She writes frequently on Jewish topics and is now serving as Scholar-in-Residence at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
