I’ve always had a bit of an antiquarian sensibility when it comes to music, which can leave me feeling out of step with the times. But these days, it’s a wonderful relief to transport yourself – eyes closed, headphones on – to another era as a brief respite from our present tedium. It’s in that…
Christian Courier has recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. The end of one world calamity and the beginning of a new world calamity stand as bookends to these 75 years. My feelings of isolation in the current pandemic have drawn my memory back to the days of WW II and my own experience in The Netherlands….
Every November 11, memories come storming through my mind about World War II. No, I was not on the battlegrounds; we lived in the Netherlands, where Canadian soldiers came to help to set our country free. For this great sacrifice, I humbly and sincerely thank them. I was only two years old when the war…
The stories I grew up with linked oranges with Christmas and chocolate with Holland’s liberation. That smooth, sweet taste triggers memories for many Dutch people who lived to see the arrival of smiling Canadian soldiers and to hear the laughter of free people. What was Liberation in the Netherlands like, 75 years ago? Tiny Bolderheij smiles at the question.
I was in my early teens during the years of World War II, 1940-1945, having been born in 1930. Though those events took place more than half a century ago, I remember some details clearly.
On the surface, this is a story about lost innocence, betrayal and shame, but at a deeper level it is a haunting study of post-WWII German guilt about the Holocaust. By the author’s own admission, the book asks, “Who is to blame for the Holocaust?”
As I walked up the spiral staircase, hearing the distant thrum of a minister’s voice, I was deeply glad.
I have never met Helen Bosch. I only know her through the email messages we’ve exchanged over the past week. However, even though we’ve never seen each other and we live half a country away, she wants to tell me her story for the Heritage Project.
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