Hunger Winter Read online

  PRAISE FOR HUNGER WINTER

  I read this book with great interest. I would love to encourage everyone to read this book. Hunger Winter succeeds in describing a very realistic picture of the situation in the Netherlands when the country was in a very difficult time. It is important that people learn about the horrors of that awful period in time and realize that—unfortunately—in many places around the world people are still at each other’s throats. Hence, it is important that each of us ask ourselves, What will I do in such a situation?

  FRITS NIEUWSTRATEN, DIRECTOR, CORRIE TEN BOOM HOUSE FOUNDATION

  As someone who has been fascinated by World War II ever since I was a child, Hunger Winter is a realistic depiction of what life could very well have been like for children like Dirk and Anna during some of the darkest days the Netherlands has ever known. Rob Currie’s ability to create and sustain a narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat is truly amazing! I highly recommend this powerful and riveting story to all readers, young and old alike!

  C. DAVID BALIK, ED.D., VICE PRESIDENT USA, ACSI

  A well-researched novel on a topic that has rarely been explored in books for young people.

  MARSHA FORCHUK SKRYPUCH, AUTHOR OF MAKING BOMBS FOR HITLER

  I could not put this down. From the first words I felt as if I was in the same grip of fear that Dirk and Anna were facing. Each chapter built a crescendo of anticipation in the hopes of finding their sister and father. This is an excellent work in the historical-fiction genre.

  KATHY PARKER, ADMINISTRATIVE LIBRARIAN, GLENWOOD-LYNWOOD LIBRARY, LYNWOOD, IL

  Join thirteen-year-old Dirk Ingelse as he takes readers on his fast-paced journey of being captured by Nazi soldiers, escaping, then avoiding their grasp. Not only does he search for his and his younger sister’s safety, but he seeks answers to some tough life questions. Set in the Netherlands at the height of the Dutch Resistance during World War II, this book promises any middle school student an enjoyable and educational read.

  BARBARA OLSSON, LEADER, BARRINGTON AREA HOME SCHOOLERS, INC.

  Hunger Winter is an exciting tale with great action and wonderfully likable characters. Kids will enjoy the suspense and action while being inspired by its values of love, loyalty, and courage.

  JANET RIEHECKY, AUTHOR OF THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MONEY

  From the opening chapter, I found myself caught up in the plight of Dirk and Anna. Join this pair of siblings in their search for safety, their flight for freedom, and their fight for faith as they navigate a maze of Nazi soldiers, collaborators, and kidnappers.

  CARL KOHNS, FIFTH-GRADE TEACHER, AVENAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AVENAL, CA

  The novel connects the reader to the emotional journey of Dirk, who is an adolescent struggling with challenge after challenge in Nazi German-occupied Europe. The reader is gripped with anticipation as Dirk overcomes one obstacle only to find himself facing an even more daunting situation. Dirk’s struggles are realistic and keep the reader from putting the book down.

  JOSH HORTON, SIXTH- TO EIGHTH-GRADE ELA AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, HAMPSHIRE MIDDLE SCHOOL, HAMPSHIRE, IL

  This book will definitely be of interest to many. It will grab the attention of those who enjoy an action story as well as those with an interest in Dutch history. Young people will enjoy reading the story of Dirk and Anna to find out how their story unfolds.

  TRIXINE TAHTINEN, DIRECTOR OF THE OOSTBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY, OOSTBURG, WI

  A realistic portrayal about the riveting events that the Dutch children and adults went through during World War II, Hunger Winter will compel you to keep reading. The struggle that faces Dirk and his little sister, Anna, leaves readers on the edge of their seats. Narrowly escaping all the negatives that go along with the war, Dirk and Anna are unforgettable characters that will leave a lasting and powerful presence in your mind. This enthralling story will grab both young adults and children alike and teach them all about the Netherlands’ darkest days during World War II.

  KRISTIN NOACK, EIGHTH-GRADE ENGLISH AND LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER, SHELDON MIDDLE SCHOOL, SHELDON, IA

  I pride myself on understanding what early adolescents will like. And believe me, they will like this book! I wish I would have had this book when I was teaching middle school history. Rob Currie gives readers authentic history, armchair-gripping excitement and suspense, as well as meaningful values and lessons. I heartily recommend Hunger Winter and already have some school libraries in mind where I would like to send it. If you have children or grandchildren in this age bracket (grades 4–8), I heartily recommend buying this book for them or even reading it together as a family reading time.

  MARILOU LONG, FOUNDER/CHANCELLOR OF WILLIAM CAREY ACADEMY

  Heroes are usually born during times of war, and during those hardships we truly see the human spirit come alive for good, and we cheer when good triumphs. This is one of those books. You’ll get wrapped up in the story of young Dirk and his family from page one. . . . All readers will be caught up in the wonder of the journey this brother and sister must endure in the midst of a world gone terribly wrong. Hunger Winter is a treasure of truth and light, courage and strength. Enjoy!

  MICHELLE HILL, HOST/PRODUCER OF FAMILYLIFE THIS WEEK

  This is a fine book! I can’t wait to share it with my librarian friends and young readers in my own family. Set in 1944, this story of a Dutch family during the German occupation will engage readers with riveting action, Dutch traditions, danger, loyalty, and faith. Bravo to author Rob Currie. I loved it all—every word and every layer.

  LOUISE BORDEN, AUTHOR OF SKI SOLDIER: A WORLD WAR II BIOGRAPHY

  Visit Tyndale’s website for kids at tyndale.com/kids.

  Visit the author online at robcurrieauthor.com.

  TYNDALE and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

  Hunger Winter: A World War II Novel

  Copyright © 2020 by Rob Currie. All rights reserved.

  Cover illustration copyright © by Violet Tobacco. All rights reserved.

  Interior illustrations of maps copyright © Bardocz Peter/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.

  Interior illustration of globe copyright © Harvepino/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.

  Author photograph by Pat Hargis. Used with permission.

  Designed by Daniel Farrell

  Edited by Sarah Rubio

  Published in association with the literary agency of The Steve Laube Agency.

  Hunger Winter is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  For manufacturing information regarding this product, please call 1-800-323-9400.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at [email protected], or call 1-800-323-9400.

  Half of the author’s royalties will go to support Compassion International, an organization that gives food, medical care, education, and hope to children in poverty around the world. For more information, visit www.compassion.com.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Currie, Rob (Robert Bruce), author.

  Title: Hunger winter : a World War II novel / Rob Currie.

  Description: Carol Stream, Illinois : Tyndale House Publishers, 2020.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019039438 (print) | LCCN 2019039439 (ebook) |

  ISBN 9781496440341 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781496440358 (trade paperback) |

  ISBN 9781496440365 (kindle edition) | ISBN 9781496440372 (epub) |

  ISBN 9781496440389 (epub)

  Subjects: LCSH: World War, 1939-1945—Netherlands—Juvenile fiction. |

  World War,
1939-1945—Underground movements—Netherlands—Juvenile fiction. |

  Netherlands—History—German occupation, 1940-1945—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: World War, 1939-1945—Netherlands--Fiction. | World War, 1939-1945—Underground movements—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Netherlands—History—German occupation, 1940-1945—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.C8649 Hun 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.C8649

  (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039438

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039439

  ISBN 978-1-4964-4037-2 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4964-4036-5 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-4038-9 (Apple)

  Build: 2020-02-14 18:29:47 EPUB 3.0

  I dedicate this book with love to Kay Currie,

  who is my bride and joy.

  Grant that I may remain brave,

  Your servant for always,

  And may defeat the tyranny.

  Which pierces my heart.

  THE DUTCH NATIONAL ANTHEM

  The weeks before us will be the most difficult in the existence of our nation.

  RADIO ORANJE

  [The Dutch people] have been called on to endure sufferings probably worse than those so far inflicted on any other country in Western Europe.

  THE TIMES (LONDON)

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Postscript

  One Man’s Prayer

  What Really Happened?

  An Interview with Dr. Currie

  Discussion Questions

  Key World War II Dates for the Netherlands

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  OOSTERBEEK, NETHERLANDS

  NOVEMBER 11, 1944

  BAM! BAM! BAM!

  Dirk Ingelse’s eyes flew open, and he raised his head off the pillow. Who could be knocking on the front door? Gestapo? His insides turned to ice.

  The pounding resumed, the sound carrying easily up the stairs into Dirk’s bedroom. It didn’t sound like the rap of knuckles—it was more like the thumping of an angry fist. Or the butt of a rifle.

  It had to be the Gestapo. They had been doing more raids lately, and they often came at night. Who else would pummel the front door of the Ingelses’ farmhouse in the middle of the night and risk getting arrested?

  Dirk rolled out of bed and crept to his bedroom window. Easing the curtain open just a bit, he kept his face away from the window, like Papa had taught him. He couldn’t see a vehicle. But what if they hid their car? Dirk’s right hand shook.

  He couldn’t hide. They would tear the place apart to find him. And he couldn’t run—they would have the place surrounded. He’d heard stories. His right hand shook harder. It had been doing that a lot ever since—

  The assault on the door resumed, even louder this time. “Open up!” growled a deep voice.

  Dirk turned from the window and crept down the stairs. “I’ll peek outside,” he said under his breath. “If it’s the Gestapo, I’ll say I have to grab the key to let them in.” He ran his fingers through his short blond hair. “Then I’ll dash through the house and burst out the back.” They would catch him for sure, but maybe they would leave his little sister alone.

  The banging got faster. “Open up, Dirk!” the voice demanded above the battering being inflicted on the door.

  Have the Gestapo come because of Papa? Have they arrested him?

  How long would they wait before they broke into the house? Dirk scurried into the kitchen and grabbed a sharp knife. Weighing about forty-eight kilograms and standing a little over one and a half meters tall, he was average weight and a bit tall for his age, but if the Germans thought they would capture him easily, they were dealing with the wrong thirteen-year-old boy. Waving the knife would keep them back so he could sprint out the rear of the house. And lead them away from Anna. He edged toward the window closest to the front door.

  Dirk swallowed hard and squeezed the knife handle harder. He pushed the curtain aside a few centimeters, gasped, fumbled with the lock, and swung the door open.

  “Mr. van Nort!”

  Why would his neighbor leave his farm at this hour of the night to come here?

  Mr. van Nort hurried in, looked back at the street, and closed the door behind him. His chest heaved.

  Dirk stared at the barrel-chested man, who took off his hat and fingered it nervously. “How did you—?”

  “I ran.”

  That has to be two kilometers!

  “I had to come right away to warn you.”

  Dirk gulped. Mr. van Nort stared at the knife.

  “Oh.” Dirk relaxed his hand, and the knife clattered to the floor. “I thought—”

  “The Gestapo took Els,” Mr. van Nort said.

  “No!” Dirk slammed his hand on the table. “Why?” But he knew why.

  Mr. van Nort looked at him sadly. “The Nazis will do anything to find your father.”

  Even torture my eighteen-year-old sister. “But Els would rather spit in their faces than tell them anything. Especially about Papa.”

  Mr. van Nort shook his head. “They are animals, and they can force anyone to talk. One man held out for fifteen days before spilling secrets.” He stared at the floor. “The next day he died from his injuries.”

  Dirk grabbed the back of a chair and forced himself to swallow a sudden sour taste in his mouth. “How did they capture Els?”

  “I came as soon as it happened. Els left our house, and I heard a scream a few moments later,” Mr. van Nort said.

  Dirk squeezed his eyes shut, his stomach twisting.

  “I ran to the window.” The neighbor grimaced. “She did her best to fight them off, but there were too many of them.”

  Dirk put his head in his hands. “Why was she at your house in the middle of the night?”

  “You’ve got to leave,” Mr. van Nort said.

  “She helps the Resistance, doesn’t she? And that means you do too.”

  Mr. van Nort held up a finger. “If Els doesn’t talk right away, they’ll come here for you and your little sister. That’s how they work.”

  The room swam before Dirk’s eyes. “We’ll go to Tante Cora’s house in Doorwerth.”

  “But there’s no food in the cities,” Mr. van Nort said. “Ever since the Germans—”

  “I know. But that’s where Els told me to go if anything ever happened to her.”

  “Take as much food as you can carry.” Mr. van Nort looked through the window at the street, then back at Dirk. “You need to leave right away. They’ll be coming for you, son. Take Anna and go. Now!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  AFTER MR. VAN NORT LEFT, Dirk’s mind raced. What are the Nazis doing to Els? But he couldn’t do anything for Els right now, and he had to get moving right away to save Anna. If he and Anna found Papa, then Papa would rescue Els. Dirk snatched two coats from the front closet, dropped them on a nearby chair, and flew up the stairs. In his bedroom, he threw on clot
hes over his pajamas for extra warmth.

  How soon would the Gestapo come? In an hour? Fifteen minutes? A car with its lights on approached the house. He peered outside. No!

  Dirk’s muscles tensed, and his eyes flitted between the approaching car and the long driveway which led to the farmhouse. Should have kept the knife with me. His breathing became more rapid. If he ran down the stairs right now, he might dash out the back door before they surrounded the house and draw them away from Anna.

  But the car passed the farmhouse.

  The next one could be coming for me. With fresh urgency, Dirk rushed to his dresser, jerked open a drawer, grabbed a gray stone shaped like an extra-large coin, and jammed it into his pocket. He rushed into Anna’s room, grabbed the first clothes he saw, and shoved them into a bag next to her dresser, pushing them in so hard he ripped a seam.

  Anna’s doll lay on the bed next to her. But he couldn’t carry Anna, food, and the doll. He reached over his six-year-old sister, untied the orange ribbon in the doll’s hair, and crammed the colorful strand in his pocket.

  “Anna.” He shook her shoulder. “We have to go to Tante Cora’s.”

  Her eyelids fluttered. “Huh?”

  “It’s time to go.”

  “Why?”

  How could he tell his little sister that the Gestapo had hunted down Els and wanted them next? “It’ll be all right. Tante Cora will take care of us.” Anna’s limp body resisted his effort to sit her up. “And we’ll play a game on the way. We won’t let anyone see or hear us. It’ll be like hide-and-go-seek at Oma and Opa’s.”

  “I love Oma and Opa,” she said, still half asleep.

  “Yes. And they love their grandchildren, too.”

  Anna’s long blonde hair swung forward when Dirk sat her up on the bed to slide clothes on over her pajamas. He scooped her up and hurried down to the kitchen. While she dozed on a chair, he yanked open a cupboard. He stuffed a half dozen potatoes into his pockets, shoved a loaf of bread under his shirt, and tossed a dozen apples into a bag. Wish I could carry more. Dirk threw on his coat and helped Anna with hers but only took time to fasten a few buttons on each jacket. He grabbed the bag of clothes, slung the bag of apples over his shoulder, and lifted Anna in his arms, but she was heavier than he expected. Uh-oh. He shifted her onto his back, and she leaned into him.