All the lost and wounded children…
Bart Van Es’, account of what happened in the Netherlands, during the Second World War, is both a history of Holland which sits rather uneasily with most of our perceptions (certainly mine) of a country which is liberal, tolerant, and moved by notions of fairness, and a personal history of his own family, during that time.
Most of all, it is the history of Hesseline (Lien) de Jong. Lien, a young Jewish girl, was part of a generation of more fortunate Jewish children who were secretly fostered by those involved in the Resistance and otherwise opposed to the occupying Nazi forces.
Lien and others ‘more fortunate’ because, of course, many were swept up and became part of the monstrous death toll of the Holocaust.
I was extremely shocked to discover that, the percentage of Holland’s Jews, who ended their days in the extermination camps, was particularly high, compared to those from other occupied countries. The Netherlands had certainly been a liberal haven, compared to many other European nations, in its attitudes towards its Jewish citizens at a much earlier time in history.
The Jewish wartime death rate in the Netherlands, at 80%, was almost double that of any other Western country, far higher than that in France, Belgium, Italy or even Germany and Austria themselves. For me, vaguely brought up on a myth of Dutch resistance, this comes as a shock
Although the reasons for this high percentage was complex, Van Es does not flinch from concluding that ‘ the active participation of Dutch citizens – who also did the work of informing on neighbours, arrest, imprisonment and transportation – also played a significant part’
Van Es’ own family, his grandfather and grandmother, politically active on the left, were part of the network which fostered Jewish children, either hidden in plain sight as part of their own family, or hidden more literally. It was to this family that young Lien, not quite 9, is initially fostered after her own family send her away for safety via the well-organised network organising this secret fostering. All of her closest relatives, and most of her extended family will not survive.
Lien regarded her first foster family as the golden ones, of those years. Again and again she was moved on to other, less happy fosterings, because discovery was imminent. Some of the places were horrific, and though children were being fostered by those who wanted to keep these children safe, human psychology being the complex thing it is, not everyone was altruistic, compassionate and caring. And the severely traumatised have their own challenges, as traumatic events make ‘normal socialisation’ challenging. Over a succession of foster homes, some, frankly with people who should not have been in care of vulnerable children at all, Lien is clearly dissociating, and blocking out experiences too painful to engage with.
After the war, she eventually returns to her first foster family, with whom she had a fairly close relationship, – though challenges are certainly present – until she completes her education, and begins to make her own way and vocation – working with vulnerable children. Later she marries and has children of her own. At some point, – and this is no spoiler, as it is part of the journey Van Es is exploring, a terrible, unhealable rift develops between Lien and her foster mother and father (Van Es’s grandparents)
In essence, the journey of Van Es’ book, though painful, is a journey towards some kind of redemption and understanding, as he seeks to understand the history of his family, and his country, through historical research – and through conversations with Lien, now in her eighties. There is a slow growing of a sense of ‘family’ between Van Es, and Lien. Van Es’ father Henk, had been born just after Lien’s return to the van Esses, after the war, aged 12.
Bart van Es writes engagingly, simply, clearly. Although this is Lien’s story it is also the writer’s; change and transformation happens for each.
And, as Lien says, in the opening sentence of the book:
‘Without families you don’t get stories’
The conversations between the two, Lien’s personal memories, the artefacts, letters 
and photographs which stimulate them, and the geographical research which Bart van Es undertakes, visiting places from Lien’s story, fleshes out a story which is both personal, and of time and place. In visiting places in our times, Bart van Es also reminds us of parallels we may not particularly wish to engage with, on the lessons of history which unfortunately seem not to have been fully learned
Lady Fancifull 
Gosh, that is a shocking statistic. Did he come to any conclusions why it was so high? I know that most of the occupied countries had informants, but can’t imagine why it would have been so much worse in Holland.
It wasn’t only collaborators. A lot of other factors – country had preserved ‘neutrality’ and invasion had been a surprise. Fairly small, urbanized country, so less opportunity to hide, and it was fairly cut off from the wider operations of for example the SOE. And the occupation was , according to sites i looked at, run by the Nazi Party itself rather than the Army, so presumably The Final Solution was more central. I think the author was shocked though, to discover there had been collaborators. One has a set of cultural beliefs about ones nation, and then you discover you are not quite as you think you are. Not all of one liberal, progressive mind. I think this is rather what the rise of populism is now doing – we are shocked to realise it is not just an isolated few. Perhaps the shock also (this was certainly true for me) because the Netherlands was a far more tolerant country, historically, than most of Europe was several hundred years ago, certainly towards Judaism and its Jewish citizens
To say that this sounds like a powerful, haunting read is probably a gross understatement. I’m glad it’s been recognised by the Costa panel, hopefully that will encourage more people to read the book. Like you, I find the statistic of 80% incredibly shocking. How horrific it must have been to live through this period; I can’t even begin to imagine it…
All we can do is hope and pray and do whatever is possible to ensure no one ever had to (live through anything like this) ever again. It does seem right that we remind ourselves of our worst moments of history – as well as the best of our moments. Beware the one, aspire to the other
My goodness, Lady F – there’s lots of stuff here I didn’t know. And how much more powerful must the book be because of the author’s personal connection and because Lien is still alive to tell the tale. A very timely book…
Indeed, I think it’s a fine piece of writing, as well as timely, interesting, educative. He doesn’t mean messages down readers’ readers’s throats, but lays out the wares he is discovering and the thoughts they evoke. And Lien, well how anyone gets to be functional after these kinds of experiences is beyond my comprehension. I think it shows the resilience and health inside. Not all made it back whole.
This sounds so powerful. He was one of my favourite lecturers at university so I’m especially interested to see how he writes in this way. It sounds like the clarity and insight I valued in his teaching are present here too 🙂
What a lovely comment Madame Bibi. I really liked the sense I had of him from this. Obviously, as a writer, he will have crafted and thought about his words, but you don’t get a sense of someone trying hard for effect. The writing, and the thinking, seems natural and authentic. There is an honesty also about how he has to ‘remember’ and imagine when Lien herself cannot – the challenge of dissociation and how some things are too painful to think about. The relationship between him and Lien seems as if it is approached with respect and willingness, on both sides, so that too is fascinating
Sounds like an intriguing factual account that I would like to read, and perhaps see if it would be appropriate for students. The Diary of Anne Frank, is about the only book on this that most Americans ever see. One note on why a larger percentage of Jews died in the Netherlands. Because of past tolerance, the Jews themselves were not expecting what the Nazi’s did. The Polish Jews faced similar difficulties because it was it was the first country invaded. Jews in other countries such as France, which had many collaborators, had advanced warning, and many attempted to flee. In Denmark a Nazi leader actually leaked that they were planning to round up the Jews.
Thank you for those informative comments, knlistman. There are always such a multiplicity of factors.
An interesting account of an important book. I’ve read a number of books on the experience of European Jewish people in WW2, but this is new information for me on the Dutch context at this time. Lien’s story is definitely one I want to read.
I think you will find it completely absorbing, Christine
Fabulous post
Thank you
I’m glad I just checked in on what you’ve posted, and I’m sorry to see you haven’t been posting as often as you have in the past. This book touched a chord with me. I have a friend who’s writing about her family’s experience during WWII, so I’m going to recommend this book to her. There’s so much to learn, so much we’re still finding out. Thank you!
Ah, Julianne – I DO intend to come back to bloggery. My absence is not due to anything traumatic, but it’s a bit daunting given the stacks to be reviewed. And the piles keep rising. If only I could do short and snappy reviews I would be laughing….
Ps Jilanne, so sorry it was wretched predictive, not me, that changed my typing of your name, unnoticed by me!
No worries! Autocorrect doesn’t like my name anywhere, LOL!