Trains and Tulips: A Novel of the World War II Dutch Resistance

How do you respond when your country is conquered by enemies?When loving your neighbor could lead to prison or death, what do you do?Can you still believe God is good when all you see is darkness?On May 10th, 1940, Germany invades the Netherlands. And so begins five years of enemy occupation. Rules, rations, and curfews are implemented. Jews are discriminated against, banned from public places, forced to wear a yellow star, and then hauled off to concentration camps.All twenty-year-old Pieter Knies wants is to continue studying theology at Utrecht University and one day become a pastor. But as time passes and the persecution of the Jews increases, it becomes harder for him to ignore the Nazis. He becomes convinced that Christ’s command to “love your neighbor” includes the Jews.Gerrit Vogel, a cheerful, young farmer who hates injustice, is engaged to Pieter’s sister Marit. From the moment the Nazis first set foot in his country, he knows he cannot simply stand by and do nothing. Marit agrees, but what can they do?David Meijer is a veterinary student at Utrecht University. But soon, he's no longer allowed at the university–because he is Jewish. And things only get worse. When his family is arrested, David goes to Gerrit for help, and now Gerrit and Marit know what they can do.Elsje DeLong's life is turned upside down on her eighteenth birthday when a neighbor comes to her with a request: Will you take a Jewish baby and claim her as your own?Soon, Pieter, Gerrit, Marit, David, and Elsje find themselves heavily involved in the Resistance. But helping the Jews and standing against the Nazis carries a cost–and for some, it will cost everything.Trains and Tulips is extensively researched historical fiction with a plot built around the real historical facts of the war. While focusing on fictional characters, it is largely inspired by the true stories of World War II heroes such as Corrie ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hans Poley, Diet Eman, and Johanna Ruth Dobschiner. Read more