My Sister and I: The Diary of a Dutch Refugee Child after the Nazi Invasion of Rotterdam. New York 1941 - First edition

My Sister and I: The Diary of a Dutch Refugee Child after the Nazi Invasion of Rotterdam. New York 1941 - First edition

My Sister and I: The Diary of a Dutch Boy Refugee - My Sister and I: The Diary of a Dutch Boy Refugee describing the Nazi invasion of Rotterdam (the Netherlands), the atrocities they committed, and the escape of him and his family to the United States in the midst of the war. By Dirk van der Heide. New York 1941 - First edition.

The diary of a 12-year-old boy named Dirk van der Heide, who experienced the Blitzkrieg – the Nazi German invasion of Rotterdam in 1940 – and subsequently fled to England and the United States. Dirk kept a diary from the age of 9. In his diary, he describes the bombings of Rotterdam, the death of his mother, and the daring escape of him and his younger sister (Kiki) through England until their arrival in the United States as refugees. He writes about the events that preceded the German invasion, the German bombings, and the chaos that prevailed in the streets, how homes of families he knew were bombed, and how, little by little, reports began to arrive of acquaintances who had been killed: “1,500 people have been killed in Rotterdam since 3 in the morning, the radio said; the bombing that we thought lasted for hours lasted 27 minutes... Twelve people on our street were killed, and I knew every one of them...”. He continues and describes how the Germans took over houses, killed their occupants, and fired from them at passersby in the streets. He then recounts the story of their escape route until they boarded the ship that would take them from England to the United States together with many refugees who had lost their family members.

From the diary emerges, in an immediate and unmediated manner, a vivid depiction of Nazi cruelty toward innocent civilians through the eyes of a young boy. “Only a child’s mind can record events in the purity of their immediate impact. And only a child who has seen destruction come to the quiet families of a normal city can provide a local habitation and a name to the impersonal terror of war” (from the introduction). It is further noted that van der Heide’s real name was changed to protect his family, and according to the introduction, the captain of the ship that carried Dirk to the United States while he was fleeing with his family knew the Dutch language and was thus able to communicate with the boy and assist him in writing.

Upon its publication, the book became an immediate bestseller in the United States and served as a powerful tool to arouse sympathy among the American public for the Allies prior to the official entry of the United States into the war. However, over the years, the book has sparked deep controversy regarding its authenticity. Many scholars (among them Paul Fussell and Richard Aldrich) believe that the book was written (or at least substantially edited) by a “ghostwriter” named Harry Bennett or by other writers on behalf of British propaganda bodies, in order to illustrate the horrors of the war through the eyes of a child. The claim is that the writing is too mature and polished for a 12-year-old, and that the descriptions of military events appear to have been drawn from news reports rather than personal observation. Today, many believe that the boy “Dirk” may never have existed and that the work was likely written by an American editor named Stanley Preston Young (or by British intelligence personnel) in order to depict the horrors of the Nazis through the eyes of a child.

95 pages. Hardcover with the original dust jacket, complete. Good - very good condition.