{"product_id":"the-curtain-witness-and-memory-in-wartime-holland-9780889203969","title":"The Curtain: Witness and Memory in Wartime Holland","description":"\u003cp\u003e Henry Schogt met his wife, Corrie, in 1954 in Amsterdam. Each knew the other had grown up in the Netherlands during World War II, but for years they barely spoke of their experiences. This was true for many people - the memories were just too painful. Years later, Henry and Corrie began to piece their memories together, to untangle reality from dreams. Their intent was to help others understand what had happened then, and how it influenced and affected not only their lives but those of all who survived. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e The seven stories in \u003ci\u003eThe Curtain\u003c\/i\u003e reveal how two families - one Jewish, one non-Jewish - fared in the Netherlands during the German occupation in World War II. Each vignette highlights a specific aspect of life; all show how life changed for everyone, and forever. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Four stories are based on the author's memories of his own non-Jewish family: Henry's friendship with a Jewish teenager; the conflict of personal antipathy with the realization that help must be provided; the Schogt parents' determination to do the right thing; the difficulties of coping with an aunt with Nazi sympathies. These are stories about the randomness of survival and the elusive nature of memory. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e For the Jewish family, three stories drawn from the memories of the author's wife and family demonstrate the bewildering situation of trying to make impossible life-determining decisions when faced with confusing and deceitful decrees. The family must struggle with the luck - or absence thereof - of finding refuge when forced from their homes, and with the perplexing inconsistencies of the collaboration of Dutch authorities and police with the Nazis. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Curtain\u003c\/i\u003e emphasizes the difference between the options that were open to non-Jews and Jews in the Netherlands. Non-Jews could freely choose whether to actively resist the Germans, collaborate with the Nazis, or just to do nothing, and try to live a normal life in spite of wartime restrictions. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Dutch Jews, on the other hand, did not have a choice - whatever they did, whatever decisions they made, they were doomed, and it often seemed, when someone survived, just simple luck. A short introduction about the war years and an appendix with a chronology of decrees, events, and statistics, provide background information for this haunting memoir of those disturbing years during the German Occupation in the Netherlands. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Henry G. Schogt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wilfrid Laurier University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/13\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 144\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780889203969\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUniv PR Books for Public Libry\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2004 pg. 91 - Strongly Recommended\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHenry G. Schogt\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e was born in the Netherlands in 1927, just before the great Depression. His high school years coincided with the German occupation, growing material hardships, and the infamous extermination of the Jews. He was an emeritus professor of French at the University of Toronto, Canada, until his death in 2020.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Wilfrid Laurier University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44181790818419,"sku":"9.78089E+12","price":31.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_c7259c6a-ec41-45fe-97ee-842635ecbf58.jpg?v=1766931985","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/the-curtain-witness-and-memory-in-wartime-holland-9780889203969","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}