The Orphans of Amsterdam by Elle Van Rijn #Publisher Bookouture #Historical Literary Fiction #Book Review #We had to save them
MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW This WW2 historical novel is a true remarkable story written by Rijn focused around the largest and most modern Jewish nursery located in Plantage Middenlaan, Netherlands, its Jewish teachers and the children in the nursery. At this period of time in 1942 Jews were not allowed to marry non-Jews, they were not allowed to play sports, all transportation in any form were halted for Jews, curfews for shopping grocery, Jewish butchers were forced to close their doors, even not allowed to sell their home furniture, not allowed to use the telephone or visit non-Jews. In the story even in the middle of hatred and exclusion, I was astonished and felt empathy for the main character Betty Goudsmit - Oudkerk, a highly optimistic and cheerful young lady who has done something of courage, charm, naivety, fearlessness and perseverance by taking care and almost saving a hundred of children from the German SS troops. In autumn 1942, she was working...