Acts of Bravery and Resistance: The Girl from the Resistance
As readers of my historical fiction books will know, I have a passion for discovering stories about Dutch people whose lives were irrevocably changed when their country was occupied by the Germans in World War 2. Many lived quiet lives only to find the strength and courage to help strangers to escape from the clutches of the Nazis, who were merciless in their desire to drive out the Jews.
My latest book, The Girl from the Resistance, is the first in a series of three novels based on the true story of three young Dutch women who lived in Haarlem, Holland and joined the resistance and carried out terrifying acts of bravery against the Nazis.
At the start of the war, the two sisters Truus and Freddie van Oversteegen, were young teenagers, who should have been experimenting with hairstyles and make-up and giggling over boys, but instead they were drawn into the world of active resistance where they became proficient in using guns and were not afraid to use them against the enemy. They weren’t driven by bravado, for they took their assignments seriously and would only draw a gun on someone they believed to be intent on harming others – in some cases, people responsible for sending hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people to their deaths.
What fascinated me in particular was that few, if any, Dutch women were involved in active resistance in the Netherlands. These three young women were all too aware that their youth and femininity put them at an advantage with German soldiers who never suspected that young women could be involved in such fearless and dangerous acts.
The centre of Haarlem, where the three women lived
At the start of The Girl from the Resistance, Trudi’s family is helping to shelter Jewish friends and their two young children in their attic. When the family home is raided by German soldiers, they drag the parents away, but not before Trudi manages to conceal Rosy and Louisa in a secret hiding place behind a bookcase.
She promises she will look after the two little girls, without imagining what this will involve, for it is of paramount importance that she keeps them away from the prying eyes of the Germans. But to do so means she must lie to her friends and family and learn how to fire a weapon.
Trudi comes to realise that someone she holds dear cannot be trusted and is following her. Dressed in disguise as a German nurse, she escorts a group of vulnerable young children, including Rosy and Louisa, on trains, through a minefield and onto a rowing boat, and must convince anyone she meets that she is transporting the children to hospital. The only consolation is Piet, the handsome resistance fighter, who stands by her and helps her plan her terrifying mission.
I hope you find The Girl from the Resistance as compelling a story as I did writing it. If you did, please do leave a review on Amazon.