Heartbreaking Account of Dutch Jews During Holocaust

 

TITLE: Discovering Twins; No Secret is Safe Forever

AUTHOR: Stella Ter Hart

PUBLISHER: Stella Ter Hart

PUBLICATION DATE: July 27, 2021

LENGTH: 280 Pages

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author is an award-winning choral and instrumental composer, casual author, and educator.
Stella Ter Hart was born in the small prairie town of Estevan, Saskatchewan, to Dutch immigrant parents. She now lives in rural Ontario with her husband, tending her heritage apple orchard.

Uncovering Family Secrets
"Twins run in the family, you know."

When the author was expecting her first child in 1982, her mother casually made a remark about twins running in the family. Stella had no knowledge of this fact and her mother had always been very secretive about her early life growing up in the Netherlands.

Once that first door into the author's past was opened to her, she needed to know the truth. She spent almost five years of deep genealogy diving and internet research. 

Stella discovered over 1,200 Dutch relatives that died in the Holocaust. The Jewish line in her mother's family had been residents in Amsterdam for over 400 years and they were wholly assimilated into Dutch society.

She discovered that her family had fifteen sets of twins out of approximately 550 births between 1832 and 1942. 

My Thoughts

We all know the story of Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam. This book provides details about how other Dutch Jews were arrested, transported to concentration camps, and murdered by the Nazis.

Stella Ter Hart did an amazing job with her research and discovering stories that were passed down in her family. She was recently reunited with a distant cousin who was sent into hiding as a child and survived the war. This book includes photos of lost family members that are poignant and heartbreaking. 

The information in this book is shocking and sad. I really can't express my disgust in words. I hope the legacies of these innocent people will not be forgotten.

I did a little research of my own and discovered the following information:

• Between 75 and 80 percent of the Netherlands' Jews were killed during the war, the highest rate in Western Europe.
• Although about 150,00 Jews were living in the Netherlands in 1940, including about 25,000 German Jews who had come as refugees, only about 15,000 were counted during the postwar census of 1947.

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

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The Legacy of Librarian Ruth Rappaport

A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport

Author: Kate Stewart

Publisher: Little A

Publication Date: May 1, 2019

Length: 397 Pages

A featured selection in the Amazon First Reads program.





About The Author
Kate Stewart is a third-generation librarian, born and raised in the Midwest. She has worked as a librarian and archivist for ProQuest, the Library of Congress, and the US Senate in Washington, DC. She is currently an archivist at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Arizona.

Overcoming Adversity and Never Giving Up
Ruth Rappaport (1923 - 2010) spent her early years in Leipzig, Germany. She was the daughter of Jewish parents and was sent to Switerzland in the late 1930s. She traveled to Seattle to live with relatives during WWII. Her father died in Buchenwald and her mother died at Ravensbrueck during the war.

Kate Stewart tells the fascinating story about how Ruth survived and thrived after she was forced to leave her family in Germany. She was a voracious reader and books helped fill the void left by her tragic early life. Ruth had visited libraries as a child and always dreamed of someday working as a librarian. She eventually earned a MLS degree and set up libraries in Vietnam for soldiers during the Vietnam War. She came back to the U.S. to work as a cataloguer in the Library of Congress for many years.

My Thoughts
When I was in elementary school, I always chose biographies to read when I visited the library. I was especially interested in the stories of famous women...Jane Addams, Clara Barton, Helen Keller, Florence Nightengale, etc.
I was immediately drawn to this book when I realized it was a biography of a librarian.

Ruth Rappaport was not famous but she lived an extremely courageous and distinguished life. Ms. Stewart used diary entries, letters, and archives to describe Ruth's "life, loves, and legacy." She visited many of the locations where Ruth lived to give the reader a clear understanding of the world as Ruth saw it.

I was especially interested in the years that Ruth spent in Vietnam setting up libraries for the soldiers and sending out packets of books/magazines to the front lines. She traveled in helicopters to oversee the branch libraries that were operating in remote areas. While in Vietnam, she was romantically involved with a U.S. serviceman for several years before learning that he had a wife and five children back in the States. Alas, Ruth was not lucky in love and never married.

The only thing I disliked about this book was the rather long history of the Library of Congress that didn't really have much to do with Ruth's story. The author provided too much (in my opinion) information about the politics, hiring discrimination and other random facts about the Library of Congress during the years that Ruth worked there. 

I believe this book will find a wide audience with librarians and history buffs who are interested in World War II, Jewish history and the Holocaust. 

MY RATING: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from the Amazon First Reads program

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Book Review: Life is Great! Revealing the 7 Secrets to a More Joyful You

Life is Great! Revealing the 7 Secrets to a More Joyful You!

By Rabbi Yitz Wyne

Xlibris Corporation, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-4568-6943-4

 

About the Author

Rabbi Yitz Wyne is the founder and spiritual leader of Young Israel Aish of Las Vegas. Rabbi Wyne's sense of purpose and fulfillment in life is inextricably connected to the sharing of the timeless Torah knowledge, values and spiritual beauty with the entire Las Vegas community.

Life is Better Than Good - It's Great!
Rabbi Wyne believes that living joyfully is very attainable. We just need the right combination of wisdom and skills in order to achieve a happier existence. The author uses wisdom from religious teachings, poignant folklore and real life examples to teach the importance of living a joyful life. The following seven secrets are highlighted in this book;

• Clarity or Death! Finding Your Bottom Line.
• Choosing Joy: Making It Your Driving Force.
• Seeing Is Being: Expanding Your Reality.
• Focusing on the Good: Training Your Mind's Eye.
• Becoming a True Optimist: Anticipating a Great Tomorrow.
• Got Gratitude? Appreciating What You Have.
• Living a Meaningful Life: Finding Your Greater Purpose.

The author is an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi and refers to the Torah, the Talmud, Kabbalah and other Jewish teachings in his writing. The principles in this book are universal and apply to all who desire to make positive changes in their lives.

My Thoughts
I found this book to be enlightening and inspiring. Rabbi Wyne's "seven secrets" are right on target for those seeking a more enriched life. The author provides practical suggestions and strategies that are easy to understand and implement.

Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference. Rabbi Wyne believes that we have the ability to change the way we think about how we are living. Our circumstances might be difficult, but we can choose to have a joyful attitude and outlook. This book is about living life to the fullest.

Sometimes we just need a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder. Yes, life IS GREAT and we have so many reasons to rejoice. 

My Rating:  5 Stars Out of 5

FYI ~ I received a complimentary paperback copy of this book to read and review from the author's publicist.

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