Things We Couldn't Say

This is the third book I've read now that centers on Dutch resisters during WWII and the Holocaust. I was fascinated to hear about the citizens' reactions to the occupation and the royal family fleeing in advance of the invasion, followed eventually by the realization that the royal family's decision hadn't necessarily been as cowardly as first thought. Diet also talks about why it was so natural for people in her country to resist, as she explains how stubborn the Dutch tend to be, easily forming splinter churches if there's a difference of opinion.

In 2015, upon receiving the Faith and Freedom Award from the Acton Institute, Diet Eman said, "...you think it’s something special. But when your country is taken—and Hitler had said he show more would respect our neutrality, and then he marches in and he starts killing all of the Jews—and we had so very many Jewish people in our country. So, you would have done the same there, when you had friends who were Jewish and they were in danger." However, from this book, it's clear that not everyone would do the same thing. Even as Diet tried to find people who would help her early in her work, she was disappointed in her Christian friends who valued their own safety over that of others.

Diet was in the same prison, and then later, the same concentration camp, as Corrie & Betsie ten Boom, and though she didn't meet them at the time, her observances of these fellow Dutchwomen of faith only strengthen my admiration of the ten Boom family (their story can be found in The Hiding Place). It's inspiring to read how Diet's faith grew during the toughest times and how she continued with her resistance work even after suffering very difficult things. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in true WWII resistance or Holocaust accounts, especially those from a Christian worldview. show less

A beautiful first-hand memoir of the WWII experience in the Dutch resistance. Included are many of Diet's journal entries: events as they unfolded, her thoughts on faith, her prayers and pleadings to God. Some parts are so raw that you just feel her, completely. Naturally, it reminded me of Anne Frank and also Corrie Ten Boom. I loved it.

This book provided an unusual vantage of faith in Jesus Christ, the One Who hates evil and gives us strength to triumph over it.
It provides an honest attempt to disclose one person's true thoughts and feelings during a time of true danger and treachery. It is rare to find such a mixture of courage and uncensored honesty.
Perhaps during our own journey of faith it will encourage us that "He will never leave us nor forsake us."
Definitely inspiring!!!!

I absolutely loved this book! It's honesty had a huge impact on me for years. I first heard of the book while listening to Focus on the Family - Dr. Dobson was interviewing Diet Eman. Her accent was very heavy so I ordered the tape to listen to the interview over again and then ordered the book. This is NOT a book that will leave you wanting to skip off into the sunset. Rather, it is a profound story of a young Christian woman falling in love and planning to marry when her country is invaded by the Nazi's. Another reviewer was disappointed by the lack of history yet I found the attitudes reflected in this book very interesting for this time. If nothing else, it helps me to understand why some Jewish people, especially secular Jews, are show more so distrustful of Christians, even American Christians. show less

This is a deeply moving personal account of a young woman who was a member of the Dutch Resistance during World War II. Diet Eman is not a professional writer, but is a very real person telling her own story. Excerpts from her diary at the time are interwoven with the narrative. She is very honest about her own struggles with fear and discouragement. I think one of the reasons I found this account so moving is that this honesty makes it clear that the people involved in the Dutch resistance were very real, ordinary people struggling with an extraordinary situation and trying to handle it in the best way they could. It is not a history book, but rather the personal experiences of the author and her acquaintances.

Very interesting first-hand account of activities of the Dutch Resistance movement during WWII. Eman & her fiancé were founding members of one of the (many) resistance groups that helped hide Jews from the Nazis. Co-writer James Schaap does a nice job of interspersing excerpts from Eman's diaries and letters; her story reads as though she were sitting in your living room reciting her memories to you. Very moving.

My attention was captured by Diet's interview on NPR one evening. I hurried to add the book to my collection only to be disappointed by the lack of historical detail it provided. The book was a beautiful love story but was talked about as a detailed memory of historical times. I suppose if I was anticipating a love story I would have been enraptured by her story but was expecting something more along the lines of "The Hiding Place". I am determined to read it again with a different expectation, we shall see!