Things We Couldn't Say (Paperback)

A true story of love stronger than Nazi persecution.

Things We Couldn’t Say is the true story of Diet Eman, a young Dutch woman, who, with her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, risked everything to rescue imperiled Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. Throughout the years that Diet and Hein aided the Resistance—work that would cost Diet her freedom and Hein his life—their courageous effort ultimately saved hundreds of Dutch Jews.

Now available in paperback, Things We Couldn’t Say tells an unforgettable story of heroism, faith, and—above all—love.

Diet Eman was a young dutch woman during WWII in Holland. Her and her fiance were involved in the Dutch resistance movement. They helped Jews find homes/families to hide with in the Dutch countryside. This was a huge undertaking that required much teamwork. (For instance, the families that took in Jews would need extra ration cards to buy more food. Extra ration cards would have to be obtained and delivered to these families.) Diet literally rode hundreds (probably thousands!!) of miles on bicycles during the war coordinating this effort to keep Jews hidden in the countryside.

As Diet tells her story, there are frequent excerpts from the personal diary she kept during the war. And excerpts from postal letters she either sent or received during the war. This helped give the book a very "real" feel...You experience her first hand emotions and thoughts as these events were actually taking place.

Diet had a strong Christian faith. Her spiritual insights are deep and powerful. Her faith sustained her during this troubling time in history.

Diet was eventually caught by the Nazis and spent time in a jail and a concentration camp. She was briefly at the same camp as Corrie TenBoom, author of The Hiding Place. Diet survived, but her beloved fiance died in a concentration camp.

I highly recommend this book. Not only is it an exceptional historical account of life during WWII, but the spiritual (Christian) thoughts in it are very profound. While Diet was living through this horrific time period, the spiritual thoughts she recorded in her diary are incredibly mature. She was so young (early 20's) but was advanced beyond her years with spiritual perception. Her faith influenced her every thought. R Martin