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Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Belgian Nuns and their Daring Rescue of Young Jews from the Nazis
In the terrifying summer of 1942 in Belgium, when the Nazis began the brutal roundup of Jewish families, parents searched desperately for safe haven for their children. As Suzanne Vromen reveals in Hidden Children of the Holocaust , these children found sanctuary with other families and schools--but especially in Roman Catholic convents and orphanages.
Vromen has interviewed not only those who were hidden as children, but also the Christian women who rescued them, and the nuns who gave the children shelter, all of whose voices are heard in this powerfully moving book. Indeed, here are numerous first-hand memoirs of life in a wartime convent--the secrecy, the humor, the admiration, the anger, the deprivation, the cruelty, and the kindness--all with the backdrop of the terror of the Nazi occupation. We read the stories of the women of the Resistance who risked their lives in placing Jewish children in the care of the Church, and of the Mothers Superior and nuns who sheltered these children and hid their identity from the authorities. Perhaps most riveting are the stories told by the children themselves--abruptly separated from distraught parents and given new names, the children were brought to the convents with a sense of urgency, sometimes under the cover of darkness. They were plunged into a new life, different from anything
they had ever known, and expected to adapt seamlessly. Vromen shows that some adapted so well that they converted to Catholicism, at times to fit in amid the daily prayers and rituals, but often because the Church appealed to them. Vromen also examines their lives after the war, how they faced the devastating loss of parents to the Holocaust, struggled to regain their identities and sought to memorialize those who saved them.
This remarkable book offers an inspiring chronicle of the brave individuals who risked everything to protect innocent young strangers, as well as a riveting account of the "hidden children" who lived to tell their stories.
Vromen has interviewed not only those who were hidden as children, but also the Christian women who rescued them, and the nuns who gave the children shelter, all of whose voices are heard in this powerfully moving book. Indeed, here are numerous first-hand memoirs of life in a wartime convent--the secrecy, the humor, the admiration, the anger, the deprivation, the cruelty, and the kindness--all with the backdrop of the terror of the Nazi occupation. We read the stories of the women of the Resistance who risked their lives in placing Jewish children in the care of the Church, and of the Mothers Superior and nuns who sheltered these children and hid their identity from the authorities. Perhaps most riveting are the stories told by the children themselves--abruptly separated from distraught parents and given new names, the children were brought to the convents with a sense of urgency, sometimes under the cover of darkness. They were plunged into a new life, different from anything
they had ever known, and expected to adapt seamlessly. Vromen shows that some adapted so well that they converted to Catholicism, at times to fit in amid the daily prayers and rituals, but often because the Church appealed to them. Vromen also examines their lives after the war, how they faced the devastating loss of parents to the Holocaust, struggled to regain their identities and sought to memorialize those who saved them.
This remarkable book offers an inspiring chronicle of the brave individuals who risked everything to protect innocent young strangers, as well as a riveting account of the "hidden children" who lived to tell their stories.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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124 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 8, 2009
Really weirdly "organized" (I can barely stand to use the word organized in this review). I would have like to have several coherent stories from the children and the nuns, rather than...whatever this was.
July 20, 2017
If you're looking for an objective historical book about this time period and the "hidden children", this isn't it.
I was shocked how much the author inserts her personal opinion, particularly about the nuns. Most of the books is based on interviews of the hidden children, nuns, and members of the Resistance. When it comes to the nuns though, the author adds her own assumptions to the nuns' answers saying things like "the nuns answered, perhaps exaggerating..." and pushing a religious salvation motive behind hiding the children (though all of the nuns interviewed spoke of purely humanitarian motives), etc. Truthfully, in my opinion, she also seems to contradict herself - she seems horrified by the lack of humility she sees/interprets in the nuns, yet later is offended that there isn't a plaque outside of the convent showcasing the number of Jewish children they had saved.
I had high hopes for this book and was so disappointed in how it turned out. I understand that not everything was perfect and angelic but I would have preferred to read the facts, not someone's opinion presented as fact.
The book was also disjointed, jumping from place to place, person to person. It was hard to keep track of which convent was a good one and which was a bad one, which child or nun was which. It would have been much easier to follow if she had done what she did with the chapter on Resistance members (which she only has high praises for) - present the interviews as a biography and tell a story, rather than disjointed sentences from the interviews appearing here and there. Nevertheless, my biggest issue was the subjectivity behind the book.
I was shocked how much the author inserts her personal opinion, particularly about the nuns. Most of the books is based on interviews of the hidden children, nuns, and members of the Resistance. When it comes to the nuns though, the author adds her own assumptions to the nuns' answers saying things like "the nuns answered, perhaps exaggerating..." and pushing a religious salvation motive behind hiding the children (though all of the nuns interviewed spoke of purely humanitarian motives), etc. Truthfully, in my opinion, she also seems to contradict herself - she seems horrified by the lack of humility she sees/interprets in the nuns, yet later is offended that there isn't a plaque outside of the convent showcasing the number of Jewish children they had saved.
I had high hopes for this book and was so disappointed in how it turned out. I understand that not everything was perfect and angelic but I would have preferred to read the facts, not someone's opinion presented as fact.
The book was also disjointed, jumping from place to place, person to person. It was hard to keep track of which convent was a good one and which was a bad one, which child or nun was which. It would have been much easier to follow if she had done what she did with the chapter on Resistance members (which she only has high praises for) - present the interviews as a biography and tell a story, rather than disjointed sentences from the interviews appearing here and there. Nevertheless, my biggest issue was the subjectivity behind the book.
February 19, 2009
This book sounded good but was extremely annoying. The author was very cynical and very little nice things to say about people who risked their lives for these children.
October 16, 2019
Thought the book was strangely written and was awfully boring at some parts (especially chapter 4 ), which made me skip some pages. I didn't like it how the author kept retelling about things which happened in previous chapters. The writer doesn't write about each child's experience; rather she says (as example) "Roger had it like this..." and then moves on to another child. Several times I became confused on the stories to which child experienced which. Kudos for the author actually separating some stories on chapter 3 . Probably the worst Holocaust book I have ever read.
March 28, 2018
I could not finish this book. It’s poorly written and disorganized. Children’s stories are spread throughout the chapter and it gets confusing. The author seems to have to add her own negative interpretations of the nuns in without a sound basis.
January 1, 2013
Interesting read especially since this was my father's and uncle's experience during the war. Without the nuns and my grandparents' bravery, I wouldn't be here.
May 16, 2017
It has been a few years since I read this book. It has always stood out in memory though. Anytime the Holocaust is brought up in class or anything it is my immediate thought. It was good enough for me to remember to this day and still know a good amount of the plot. I think that this book is very well put together. I was able to learn quite a lot of interesting facts about the Holocaust and some tricks used when officers came around to search for the Jewish children. I thought it was interesting the these women of God were willing to lie to the Nazi Officers when they came around. Although they were protecting many human lives by doing it. The children were able to find safe homes with families of non-jewish descent. This book holds a lot of information to the way children really had to live during this time.
February 18, 2019
Suzanne Vromen is a holocaust survivor who had the experience of leaving the familiar and being stuck into a new Catholic environment. As an adult sociologist, she is able to use her personal history as a framework to empathetically describe the lives of other hidden children.
It was enlightening to read the perspective of both children and then the adults that were in charge of their care. Ms. Vromen does a remarkable job of pulling out and understanding the differing motivations of the active participants in the rescue: the children, adult caregivers and resistance members.
I very much enjoyed reading this book and learning this history.
It was enlightening to read the perspective of both children and then the adults that were in charge of their care. Ms. Vromen does a remarkable job of pulling out and understanding the differing motivations of the active participants in the rescue: the children, adult caregivers and resistance members.
I very much enjoyed reading this book and learning this history.
June 25, 2017
Ultimate Reading Challenge 2017. A book with a subtitle.
Disappointing. Vague. Repetitive. Insufficient detail. I think the biggest problem with this book is that the author waited too long to do the research/interviews and so many of the people were already dead. This means that the number of interviews was very limited. Also, although she states she is a sociologist and apparently only interested in that aspect, the psychological impact on the hidden children should have been addressed.
The book needs a good editor!
Disappointing. Vague. Repetitive. Insufficient detail. I think the biggest problem with this book is that the author waited too long to do the research/interviews and so many of the people were already dead. This means that the number of interviews was very limited. Also, although she states she is a sociologist and apparently only interested in that aspect, the psychological impact on the hidden children should have been addressed.
The book needs a good editor!
March 22, 2022
Oof, this was dry. Especially considering how dramatic its subject matter was; she talks stuffily in the end about she's really only examining the events as a sociologist, not a biographer, and she certainly did her best to examine trends only. Sometimes perhaps it's best to bow to the inevitable and give the subject the treatment it deserves.
March 1, 2017
I didn't finish reading this book.
October 9, 2010
This book is about the lower echelons of the Catholic clergy during the Nazi occupation of Belgium in World War II. While the higher levels kept quiet, the parish priests and nuns hid thousands of Jewish children and saved their lives.
Vromen undertook this research as a sociological study and the book reads somewhat like a thesis. She has interviewed one priest, a number of nuns, a number of hidden children and a couple of members of the secular resistance movement responsible for getting the children from their families to the institutions that hid them.
I am left feeling depressed and uplifted at the same time. Nazis and nuns are two of my greatest fascinations, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this study. What I'm left with is a sense that armed resistance receives too much acclaim in comparison with other forms. The people who just did a few tiny things - carrying messages or providing food - were just as courageous as those who chose a more militant form of resistance. But what about all those others who chose not to resist, neither actively nor passively. Did they collaborate or embrace Nazi ideology? Did they merely think of themselves as neutral? Which begs the question, how can you remain neutral in the face of such inhuman behaviour? More interestingly, how would I have behaved? There's no way to know without finding myself in a position that I hope the world never sees again. I suspect, though, that as survivors die memory will fade and such horrors may again be committed. The extreme religious right of the United States and their vilification of Muslims give me cause for concern. The eternal conflict in the Middle East gives me cause for concern. Every continent shows some form of intolerance and oppression of humanity. I can only do what little I can to ensure that we do not forget.
Vromen undertook this research as a sociological study and the book reads somewhat like a thesis. She has interviewed one priest, a number of nuns, a number of hidden children and a couple of members of the secular resistance movement responsible for getting the children from their families to the institutions that hid them.
I am left feeling depressed and uplifted at the same time. Nazis and nuns are two of my greatest fascinations, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this study. What I'm left with is a sense that armed resistance receives too much acclaim in comparison with other forms. The people who just did a few tiny things - carrying messages or providing food - were just as courageous as those who chose a more militant form of resistance. But what about all those others who chose not to resist, neither actively nor passively. Did they collaborate or embrace Nazi ideology? Did they merely think of themselves as neutral? Which begs the question, how can you remain neutral in the face of such inhuman behaviour? More interestingly, how would I have behaved? There's no way to know without finding myself in a position that I hope the world never sees again. I suspect, though, that as survivors die memory will fade and such horrors may again be committed. The extreme religious right of the United States and their vilification of Muslims give me cause for concern. The eternal conflict in the Middle East gives me cause for concern. Every continent shows some form of intolerance and oppression of humanity. I can only do what little I can to ensure that we do not forget.
December 15, 2010
Excellent! It typically takes me a while to get into non-fiction books, but I picked this up and was intrigued from page 1. It details the lives of WWII's "hidden children", the more than 2,000 Jewish children who were removed from their homes and families and given new identities to avoid deportation and extermination by the Nazis. The book focuses on the many children hidden in Catholic convents, and is separated into four sections: the lives of the hidden children, the nuns and priests who cared for them (the main focus is on the nuns in this book), the "escorts" who removed the child from the home and supplied their new identity, and the recognition and memorials of said clergy and escorts since the war's end.
June 23, 2011
I would have given this book a 5 star just for the content alone. The commitment of these individuals, reaching out to save Jewish children…disregarding the high cost of their own personal freedom and lives was truly remarkable and commendable. This novel is rich in history and these tales should never be forgotten. The fact that these tales took so long to see the light (and the reason being) was a bit disturbing.
The only fault I felt with this book was that it was a bit dry….fact based. I have an E-reader and I would have loved to go back and forth between the interviews of the nuns and compare them to the experiences of the children. Overall, it was interesting because of the topic
The only fault I felt with this book was that it was a bit dry….fact based. I have an E-reader and I would have loved to go back and forth between the interviews of the nuns and compare them to the experiences of the children. Overall, it was interesting because of the topic
February 6, 2016
This is an excellent, scholarly treatment, on the rescue of Jewish children in Nazi occupied Belgium by Catholic nuns. The author Suzanne Vromen has done extensive research and interviewed surviving children, sisters and members of the resistance who hid the children in convents under the sister's care. This is an emotionally laden book that deals with the consequences of what the children went through in order to survive the war; and the tragedy of rebuilding their lives after the war was over. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in Survivors of the Holocaust; and those known as Righteous Among The Nations.
July 17, 2012
One of the fascinating stories to come out of the Holocaust....with all the memories of the pathetic search for the children who were so successfully hidden by the church while the Nazis did their worst.
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August 11, 2011I think this is a great intro book for kids to read about the holocaust. It is not too violent or descriptive but shows them the bad about the time period it was in.
March 8, 2014
In depth information which I had not known. Always like hearing more details that enlightens my view of the Holocaust.
March 19, 2015
A welcome review of some children's stories reagarding life during the Holocaust.
July 6, 2015
It had a lot of interesting bits, but it wasn't very coherent and the author interjected her opinion a bit to much for my taste. I don't regret reading it, but I wouldn't read it again.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews