Three Ordinary Girls
I cannot emphasize enough how much this book is a must-read for all ages! It is eye opening, jaw dropping and unforgettable. I’m still completely speechless when it comes to what these three teenage girls went through and the actions they took during WWII in order to help save their fellow countrymen and Jews.
This is an astonishing World War II story of a trio of fearless female resisters whose youth and innocence belied their extraordinary daring in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. It also made them the underground’s most invaluable commodity.
May 10, 1940: Overnight, nine million Netherlanders were suddenly under the heel of the Reichstag boot. Joining a small resistance cell in the Dutch city of Haarlem were three teenage girls: Hannie Schaft, and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen who would soon band together to form a singular female underground squad. Smart, fiercely political, and devoted solely to the cause, they took direct action against Nazi targets, “with nothing to lose but their own lives.”
They started with simple acts of covert illegality: lifting German ID cards to conterfeit them; distributing fliers announcing strikes, and passing out anti-Nazi literature. With each task the danger became more pronounced, and the stakes became higher.
Soon the three girls were called on for bigger and more deadly jobs: ferrying Jewish children to safe locations, intelligence-gathering, spying, sabotage, transporting weapons, detonating bombs and setting military facilities ablaze. They also assassinated German soldiers and traitors.
The inspiring and true story of Hannie, Truus and Freddie is a page turner that constantly had me holding my breath as my heart pounded. This is an astonishing piece of history that should never be forgotten, and I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to read this book and share my thoughts. I highly recommend this book not only to lovers of WWII history, but to anyone who enjoys discovering true stories about exceptionally brave and strong women.
Thank you Kensington Books and Citadel Press for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
