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DESCRIPTION:
Two women find each other in Holland, brought together improbably by a set of worn quilts, made by groups of women half-a-world-away who simply used what they had.
First there is An in Holland in the early 1940s, fighting to keep the War from taking over her young, promising life. Despite being from a well-to-do family, she risks her life repeatedly to care for war-time refugees -- hiding a Jewish baby in her hand-luggage while on a ferry that draws gunfire; distracting the guard at a bridge so a fugitive without a pass can be bicycled across; stuffing documents under a body lying in state in a room in her home when soldiers suddenly launch a raid; and much more.
At the same time, groups of women across North America meet in sewing circles, concerned that the War is destroying homes and families throughout Europe. They know they can’t stop the devastation. But they can make quilts -- and then bundle them up and send them off to do their part to give comfort and courage during the War.
Lynn comes 20-some years later, showing up in Amsterdam fresh from America in the mid-1960s, a little rebellious and tired of another war. She didn’t know An then, and quilts were not something she ever made. But her grandmother and aunts and other older women in her childhood church did.
One weekend, Lynn discovers the quilts that survived the War and goes searching for their owner and their stories. She found An and, ultimately, herself.
The book brings together these true, yet nearly unbelievable stories; it pictures the 19 work-worn quilts, along with many historic photographs of the places where the War reached An, as well as current photos of An and Lynn together today.
This is a treasure that will inspire women everywhere not to turn aside from helping others -- in little ways, in ordinary ways.
CONTENTS:
About our stories . . . 3
An—1944, Amsterdam 5
I begin my work with
the Resistance
Lynn—January 1980 7
Discovering the
quilts
An—April 1922-1937 15
A little background
An—April 1938-1940 21
The German Occupation
begins
An—1940 26
The Occupation
Lynn—1949-1972 29
From Heron Lake to
Amsterdam
An—1940-1943 39
I go to the city
An—1943-April 1944 45
Discovering the
Resistance in Amsterdam
Lynn—1972-1974 55
Finding a home in
Amsterdam
An—Spring-Summer 1944 61
Marriage in Makkum
An—Summer-Winter 1944 69
Daily life in Irnsum
An—Winter 1944-Spring 1945 79
Creative thinking and
the generosity of the country
An—July 1944-May 1945 84
Resistance work in
Friesland
An—Spring 1945 86
A pacifist’s
nightmare
An—Spring 1945 88
When language became
a give-away
Lynn—1988 91
Still tender hearts
An—1945 95
Classic diversion
An—1945 99
Saved by the dead
An—1945 102
Coincidence?
An—March 1945 104
Collaborators try to
flee
An—May-September 1945 109
Visiting Makkum
An—May 1945 113
After the Liberation
An—Late 1945-September 1946 117
More refugees?
Lynn 129
The quilts’ journey
Lynn 143
Surprise at the
border
An—1946-1947 149
The Ukrainian
Mennonites leave Irnsum
An—1980 153
Lynn meets the
quilts; I meet Lynn
Lynn—June 1980 159
Discovering
Mennonites in Holland
An—1992 165
What to do with the
quilts?
Lynn—September 1994 171
Stewarding the quilts
An—July 1991 175
In touch with my
memories
Lynn
A closing word 177
About the Quilts 180
Mennonite Relief Efforts Today 184
About Makkum Pottery 185
The Proposed International Menno Simons Center
Netherlads 185
Readings and Sources 186 ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
An Keuning-Tichelaar was born in 1922 in Makkum, a harborplace near Witmarsum, Friesland, the Netherlands. Married in 1944, she is the mother of three children. Her home, a parsonage, has always been a haven for needy children, youth, and adults.
Lynn Kaplanian-Buller was born in 1949 in Heron Lake, Minnesota. She and her husband raised two children in three cultures while taking over and managing a bookstore company in the Netherlands (www.abc.nl). She is active in the Dutch Mennonite Relief organization, her own church council, and Rotary. |
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