The Way it Was: Growing up in Wartime Holland

by Sid Baron

On May 10, 1940, Hitler's war machine blitzkrieged its way through the peaceful farm country of the Netherlands. In one small village, a boy's life would be forever changed by the events of the next 5 years. Readers will discover what it was like when you knew you were about to die in a hail of bullets. Still there is plenty of fun and mischief too with friends and siblings. The Way it Was is mostly about events during the Second World War. Those events not only affected the author's life; it largely molded the lives of all those who lived during the twentieth century. The Way it Was is intended to assure that the memories of that great conflict and the sacrifices made, will not soon be forgotten.

Genres: Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[NP Rince]

This book was written by my great uncle, Sid Baron. It’s crazy to read about the life of my great grandparents! Overall a funny but serious book.

[Mark]

This is a simple and affecting memoir of growing up in wartime Holland, written by a man whose family emigrated to the U.S. after the war and who has led his life as a business owner. It is by turns funny, poignant, scary and nostalgic. The story of Mr. Baron's family participating in the Dutch resistance against the Nazis while living next door to a Nazi sympathizer, eyewitness descriptions of air war battles in the skies over his home, times when he feared being caught doing something wrong by German soldiers, the way his family hid another family in their home for several years -- it's good stuff, and a quick read.

[Linda Ewankowich]

An easy to read memoir of what it was like living in the Netherlands during WWII. The author is 10 at the start of the war, and we see events unfold through his eyes. While he doesn't always understand exactly what is happening, you still feel the fear he felt during this time. At times funny (horse pooh chewing tobacco anyone?!) it was an interesting read that will capture your heart.

[Kathyandrick]

This was very interesting to me, especially because the author grew up in the area of the Netherlands that my grandparents did. Sid Baron came to live in my home town when he emigrated in 1948. The book is funny in places, scary, sad and nostalgic.