The Vision of Antje Baumann

Power (Black ’47) shines a searing light on the torments experienced by Holland’s citizens during WWII, focusing on a Catholic Oosterbeek family’s trials during the Nazi occupation. Wim and Corrie Baumann have three children, and the oldest—Cornelis, or “Nelis”—tells the story of his younger sister Antje, who, “from birth... had brushed with death so many times” and lost sight in one eye at age five before losing her vision completely a few years later. After that, she foresees incidents small and large, such as her near inclusion in a roundup of Jews. While the town suffers the indignation and then atrocities of the occupation, the persecution of Jews, and a battle, Antje often turns to Nelis with insights about their family’s decision to become part of the dangerous Resistance, including the creation of a hideout in their home and heart-stopping raids. Nelis’s narration is stark, and his straightforward observations deepen the chill of this unsettling story of Nazi brutality and unbearable family losses. [em](BookLife) [/em]