The two Brilleslijper sisters were extremely brave and resourceful during the German occupation of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Janny had become political even during the Spanish Civil War. They are both friends with members of the Dutch Communist Party and Lientje falls in love with a German man who has fled his country in disgust and despair. They help to shelter other people when the family is forced to flee into the country. Eventually they are caught and sent to Auschwitz and then moved to Bergen-Belsen. The author includes their brother Joap and their circle of allies from all walks of life. The horrible facts of daily living in the Netherlands when there was so much betrayal and fear is hard reading. The author states that over 76% population of Jewish people were murdered. This number does not include the Dutch resisters to the Nazi occupation and some compassionate Dutch who tried to shelter people who were killed. She includes brief post-war information about people and a bibliography. I greatly admired many people in this book and took many notes to find out more, but the writing flow is awkward..

Bittersweet read that pretty much had me crying from page one. As novels about this point in history are want to to do. Though it was hard to read I am glad that I read it.

I found this to be a tough read.. But I would like to state that these stories of the war need to be read generation after generation. They touch the core. I loved the idea od resilience, selfishness and bravery of the many people and of the jews thats been depicted. Written in a beautiful and expressive way..

Absolutely heart wrenching story and very inspirational to learn how people have live through this times. If you love historical fiction then this book may interest you. Though the plot isnt anything new.

This is a well written piece of history about two Jewish sisters living in the Netherlands during WWII, complete with an Anne Frank connection. Lien and Janny grew up in Amsterdam to Jewish parents. Both became romantically involved with non-Jewish men, and, when the Nazis invaded, became involved in the resistance and efforts to save the Jewish population. Eventually, the family has to go into hiding, settling in a country house called The High Nest. They live there in quasi-hiding (both sisters and their spouses have false papers that state they are Aryan), while their house is used as both a hiding place, resistance safe house, and stop for those travelling between hiding places. In 1944, they are betrayed and arrested. Lien and Janny are sent to Westerbork with their parents, brother, and others from their hiding place. From there they are sent to Auschwitz on the last train to leave Westerbork for Auschwitz, along with the Frank family (who were arrested around the same time). Lien and Janny stay together in Auschwitz, and are then sent to Bergen-Belsen, where conditions are even worse. It's hard to summarize the last third of this book, when the sisters are in the camps, because how can you reduce that much human suffering to just a few sentences?

I admit that one of the reasons I picked up this book was the Frank connection, but I hesitate to highlight it during this review because these sisters deserve to have their story told, even if they had never crossed paths with Anne Frank. But, if that is what gets people to pick up this book, so be it- they knew Anne Frank in the camps and were with her in her last weeks.

But that isn't why you should read this book. You should read this book to learn about two women who worked to save their fellow humans when they knew the stakes were life and death, when they knew they risked the lives of their families and children. You should read this book to understand how the Jews of the Netherlands became trapped in the Nazi net and fought to escape. You should read this book to know that people resisted, even if we don't know their names. You should read this book for the personal story of how one family lived, and died, during the Holocaust.