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'When The War Is Over' is for YA readers. The story is set in the Netherlands during W.W.II. The beautiful cover art was created by James Bentley. For more art by James Bentley you can visit his web site at: www.jamesbentley.com During my research I found two biographies of women who had been working as couriers during the war. Young girls and women often worked for the resistance. They carried secret documents, took Jewish people to safe addresses, distributed illegal newspapers and often accompanied Allied pilots, who had been shot down by the Germans, but saved by the resistance, to safe places. The couriers often risked their lives in order to save others. Some of the girls were arrested, interrogated, sent to concentration camps and sometimes executed by the Nazis. The heroic deeds of these young women and girls were never mentioned in the history books when I studied W.W.II. | ||
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In the summer of 1998, I went to Friesland to do research on the couriers. Albert and I visited the Museum on War and Resistance. Fokke Wagenaar the archivist of the War Museum helped me find the materials for the research. He had printed a list of books of personal accounts and biographies of the girl couriers. When I read the material, I became overwhelmed by the courage of these often very young girls. Their fight against the Nazis called for heroic actions in which they often took enormous risks and put their lives on the line for strangers. In December of 2002, Albert and visited the museum again and donated a copy of 'When the War is Over'. We also took pictures of the statue of 'De Koerierster' (The Courier), in Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland. | |
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During the Christmas holidays we visited the bronze statue of the courier in Leeuwarden, Friesland. The girl on the bike represents all women and girls, who risked their lives to save others. | ||||||
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Pre-Reading Activities: Examining the cover:
General Discussion: The couriers were part of the underground movement. The women took part in illegal activities to sabotage the enemy and to save lives. The Second World War gave women the opportunity to become involved in warfare. They were not officially enlisted as soldiers to fight at the front, but they became involved in many aspects of the war. Women worked in administration, the medical field, factories and some trained as pilots.
Reading Comprehension: Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:
Chapter 14:
Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
Chapter 17:
Chapter 18:
Chapter 19:
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This is a picture of my grandmother's identity card, which she needed to carry with her at all times during the war. It was called an 'Ausweiss' | |||||||
Chapter 20:
Chapter 21:
Chapter 22:
Chapter 23:
Chapter 24:
Chapter 25:
Chapter 26:
Chapter 27:
Chapter 28:
Chapter 29:
Chapter 30:
Chapter 31:
Chapter 32:
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