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What Did you do During the War Sister
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December 5, 2024
What did you do During the War Sister? Is a book about the nuns in Namur, Belgium a key location in both the Battle of the Ardennes in 1940 and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. It was also invaded TWICE by the Nazi’s. The fictional story is based on letters, journals, and other documents found in the basement of the abbey that was also a school during the war.
More Takeaways:
During one of my reading sessions from this book I had a few insights. One is my interpretation of kristallnacht.
One is a quote from this book about nuns in Namur, Belgium a key location in both the Battle of the Ardennes in 1940 and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. It was also invaded TWICE by the Nazi’s. The fictional story is based on letters, journals, and other documents found in the basement of the abbey that was also a school during the war.
There is safety in consistency and following God’s will.
“To some, the vow of unquestioning obedience seems oppressive, but it actually removes so much angst from our lives. What makes us anxious and fearful? Often, we are consumed with worrying about decisions to be made, implementing those decisions, and then agonizing about whether we made the right decisions. Practicing the vow of obedience removes those anxieties from our lives, replaced with calm acceptance of our future as determined by a loving God. Sister Julie said it perfectly: At the Day of Judgment a Sister who has lived by obedience will be found fully justified in all that she has done. If God should ask of her:
Why did you do such a thing? Why did you not do such another?' she need only answer, 'Lord, I did Thy Will, since I did that of my Superiors!” ~What did you do during the war. Sister?
💎💎💎💎
In Revelations 4:6 it describes heaven as a sea of glass. I believe Kristallnacht was a counterpart. It was a desecration of humanity-a pogrom attack on God’s chosen people. An adversarial attack against God and His people. Broken glass.
How can your weaknesses be made strengths during ideological warfare of our day?
“The ability to make oneself heard and listened to could be the difference between life and death; the rule of silence would be of little help in the coming conflict. In this war, she said, my weaknesses may prove to be strengths.“
What did you do in the war sister? By Dennis J. Turner
“For all of these things we are proud of you and grateful to you. But they merely reflect the material side of America.
What about America's spiritual side-her soul? We soldiers are primarily interested in this spiritual side because it is the SOUL of a nation that makes it great and keeps it great. We feel, too, that one of the surest ways of testing the soul of any nation is by observing how its citizens practice goodwill, which is merely another way of saying ’love thy neighbor.’”
“On behalf of our small group, and especially for "our" kids, we are grateful for your generosity and your charity. But we are grateful most of all for your goodwill. For goodwill is the basis of the just peace that Americans are fighting and praying for-to end tyranny, injustice, and persecution of man by man; to spread love of neighbor; and to try to end forever the scourge of war!”
What did you do in the war sister? By Dennis J. Turner
“Recruiters freely distributed chocolate and lollipops while promising a clean, orderly, and disciplined life in the army. Like all the children in Germany, Frantz was thoroughly indoctrinated with Nazi propaganda from the time he could walk. He was programed to be a pure Nazi, eager to fight for the Father-land, and to consider it an honor to die for Hitler. An added inducement was the promise that he would be a member of an elite SS unit. Frantz and thousands of boys like him volunteered to be part of the 12th SS Panzer Division, Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth).”
Some of my thoughts after finishing the book:
In this book is talked about the careful indoctrination program the German children went through. It was designed to make them fanatics. What an excellent description for the people who have been indoctrinated.
The other cultural programming I see today is that of the NEED to have an opinion on everything. This creates sweeping judgments, snap decisions, and makes way for toxic positivity, toxic empathy, etc. because we don't know what we don't know. No decision or opinion should we form until it's been well researched, thought about, and even prayed about. I've noticed this over the years and have purposefully not make snap decisions--especially not on the spot. I also make an effort to suspend opinion and will even comment that I’m doing such while I'm in the gathering phase. One of those examples is the case against Tim Ballard. I simply have not had enough satisfactory information to say what position I'm going to take on it.
More Takeaways:
During one of my reading sessions from this book I had a few insights. One is my interpretation of kristallnacht.
One is a quote from this book about nuns in Namur, Belgium a key location in both the Battle of the Ardennes in 1940 and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. It was also invaded TWICE by the Nazi’s. The fictional story is based on letters, journals, and other documents found in the basement of the abbey that was also a school during the war.
There is safety in consistency and following God’s will.
“To some, the vow of unquestioning obedience seems oppressive, but it actually removes so much angst from our lives. What makes us anxious and fearful? Often, we are consumed with worrying about decisions to be made, implementing those decisions, and then agonizing about whether we made the right decisions. Practicing the vow of obedience removes those anxieties from our lives, replaced with calm acceptance of our future as determined by a loving God. Sister Julie said it perfectly: At the Day of Judgment a Sister who has lived by obedience will be found fully justified in all that she has done. If God should ask of her:
Why did you do such a thing? Why did you not do such another?' she need only answer, 'Lord, I did Thy Will, since I did that of my Superiors!” ~What did you do during the war. Sister?
💎💎💎💎
In Revelations 4:6 it describes heaven as a sea of glass. I believe Kristallnacht was a counterpart. It was a desecration of humanity-a pogrom attack on God’s chosen people. An adversarial attack against God and His people. Broken glass.
How can your weaknesses be made strengths during ideological warfare of our day?
“The ability to make oneself heard and listened to could be the difference between life and death; the rule of silence would be of little help in the coming conflict. In this war, she said, my weaknesses may prove to be strengths.“
What did you do in the war sister? By Dennis J. Turner
“For all of these things we are proud of you and grateful to you. But they merely reflect the material side of America.
What about America's spiritual side-her soul? We soldiers are primarily interested in this spiritual side because it is the SOUL of a nation that makes it great and keeps it great. We feel, too, that one of the surest ways of testing the soul of any nation is by observing how its citizens practice goodwill, which is merely another way of saying ’love thy neighbor.’”
“On behalf of our small group, and especially for "our" kids, we are grateful for your generosity and your charity. But we are grateful most of all for your goodwill. For goodwill is the basis of the just peace that Americans are fighting and praying for-to end tyranny, injustice, and persecution of man by man; to spread love of neighbor; and to try to end forever the scourge of war!”
What did you do in the war sister? By Dennis J. Turner
“Recruiters freely distributed chocolate and lollipops while promising a clean, orderly, and disciplined life in the army. Like all the children in Germany, Frantz was thoroughly indoctrinated with Nazi propaganda from the time he could walk. He was programed to be a pure Nazi, eager to fight for the Father-land, and to consider it an honor to die for Hitler. An added inducement was the promise that he would be a member of an elite SS unit. Frantz and thousands of boys like him volunteered to be part of the 12th SS Panzer Division, Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth).”
Some of my thoughts after finishing the book:
In this book is talked about the careful indoctrination program the German children went through. It was designed to make them fanatics. What an excellent description for the people who have been indoctrinated.
The other cultural programming I see today is that of the NEED to have an opinion on everything. This creates sweeping judgments, snap decisions, and makes way for toxic positivity, toxic empathy, etc. because we don't know what we don't know. No decision or opinion should we form until it's been well researched, thought about, and even prayed about. I've noticed this over the years and have purposefully not make snap decisions--especially not on the spot. I also make an effort to suspend opinion and will even comment that I’m doing such while I'm in the gathering phase. One of those examples is the case against Tim Ballard. I simply have not had enough satisfactory information to say what position I'm going to take on it.
July 1, 2025
After watching "The Sound of Music" for the "umpteenth" time, this time with our 9 and 12 year old grandsons, I was delighted to find a book about REAL nuns and what they did during the second World War. Even better, the book is set in Belgium (and France)--I'm a francophile:) Plus, the book is an historical novel which is my preferred way to learn history and my preferred genre of books. I am very impressed that author Dennis Turner wrote this book based on letters written by nuns during the war. Being a retired lawyer, he was meticulous about citing his sources and clarifying where the story is based on fact and where he has used his imagination. The story is every bit as moving as the story of the nuns in "The Sound of Music." Their bravery is inspiring. I also want to compliment the author on his ability to write from a woman's point of view. This book is a great addition to recent literature on World War II. Highly recommend!
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