MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW
1941 Amsterdam - I enjoyed reading the Orphans of war. A real page turner story well researched by author Michael Reit about WW2 Nazi persecution in Amsterdam with plenty of twists and turns. I highly recommend it for historical fiction readers. Orphans of War is a story about a national socialist police officer named Floris, his younger brother Christiaan, and Nora Floris's Wife. As a tram driver Christiaan Brouwer interacts with his fellow Amsterdammers on a daily basis and witnesses shocking scenes almost everyday in the street. One day at the Waterloo Square - Blaubrurg - the blue bridge, the German police officers at least thirty of them with their ten trucks parked across the square were rounding up people. The German Police entered the new Jewish synagogue at the Jewish Quarter and raided the Jewish husbands and fathers - Jewish citizens were rounded up like cattle, arresting people on the square, blocking all traffic. Christiaan was horrified and felt sharp pain witnessing people getting arrested at the synagogue, seeing all the men being taken and loading them up in trucks. Seeing them at the square, kneeling like criminals - arresting more than hundred people off the streets. the Grunei police arrested them cause of Jewish violence, the Jews have been causing trouble all over the town, attacking even the Grunei police with gas.
Floris Brouwer was a Nazi supporter whereas his wife and her brother in law Christiaan joined the Resistance. Nora was NSB officer Floris's wife. Floris Joined the police force after the resistance.
These people they hauled off in those raids were four hundred and a bit. They were sent to Germany to work, Christiaan had also seen what violence the Sicherheitspolizei had caused at the Koko ice cream parlor. It had been awful for the Jewish people at the Jewish Quarter, where anyone who helped the Jews in Amsterdam could get themselves beaten up for just serving Jews. They had food coupons, but cannot go into grocery stores and markets to use them. Plenty of people were robbed and targeted daily which was awful. Christiaan couldn't stand injustice, Nora knew from Floris about the men arrested and being transported to Germany for work camps later. Nora had heard plenty of elderly men were taken in trucks.
Amsterdam 1942: It was announced Jews were no longer allowed to use public transport. All Jews were forced to wear the star of David in public. Amsterdammers responded by giving up their seats to their star wearing citizens. The character Christiaan is compassionate and kind. He went ahead to ensure the Jews were kept safe and fed in their hiding places. He even carried so many food coupons to give Jewish citizens avoiding any of the German checkpoints. Christiaan was shocked to hear how Germans conducted themselves, they suppressed the strikes with violence and death and twenty people had died, with hundreds injured. The Sicherheitsdienst had even executed several people, with hundreds more arrested and deported to German. As a tram driver Christiaan came to know the secret network of tram drivers delivering messages and small packages all over the town. Christiaan now found himself part of one of Amsterdam's resistance cells. At this time Floris along with his colleagues was arresting Jews and sending them to Mauthasen, a camp in Austria. He made sure infractions of the rules were punished. Floris joined the Bureau of Jewish affairs and had arrested more Jews in his time at Bureau than all of them combined.
Nora Joins the resistance with Christiaan settling into a spy role for the resistance extracting information from Floris. Floris gets promoted as Sergeant. The new role gave him closer access to the higher ranks of the Sicherhertsdienst and Grunei police and in turn made him more successful in hunting down Jews, growing his stash astonishingly mix of cash and Jewelry.
Christiaan wanted Nora to help out saving children - having started smuggling them away from creche, to bring them to safety somewhere else in the country. Therefore, Nora meets Henriette Pimental the Jewish lady who runs the creche - Mrs Pimental - Everybody knew about the woman who ran the exclusive Jewish - Creche across from the Schouwburg. Orphans of War revolves around the role of NSB in the Nederlands - tales of heroic resistance, a story of European WW2. The creche at the Plantage Middlellaan was real and Mrs Pimental oversaw the smuggling operation saving an estimate of 500 to 1000 children from certain death. The author has done extensive research to bring this novel alive and enjoyable for his readers.
I just reviewed the Orphans of War by Michael Reit. Thanks to Author Michael Reit and Publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy for my honest review.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
- Publication date : September 8, 2022
- Language : English
- File size : 4110 KB
- Print length : 311 pages
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