A World War II autobiography of a Dutch youth during the years 1940-1947. An extraordinary account that follows the author through the invasion of the Netherlands, home life under the Nazis, Buchenwald death camp and escape, the French Underground, D-Day with the American 101st Airborne Division, the liberation of France and service in the Dutch Marines in the Asian campaign. A book that would not have been written if some had not been teaching the Holocaust had not occurred.
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"This book should be required reading for every student of history, young or old." --Dr. Charles Thielen, Professor Emeritus of History, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
About the Author
Born in the Netherlands in 1923, the author was 16 when the Nazis invaded Holland. After working with the Dutch underground, he was arrested and taken to Buchenwald. After suffering the most unspeakable of horrors he managed to escape and made his way to France. Many wartime experiences followed including serving to assist downed American flyers to safety and other exploits. Finally ending up in service to the Dutch Marines in Asia he managed to come to America in 1949. He built a successful insurance activity in Rapid City, SD. After 40 years of keeping his story to himself he was compelled to write a book detailing his war years upon hearing that some were teaching that the Holocaust never occurred.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 20th Century Odyssey,
By Jon Willcox (Bartlesville, OK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Was God on Vacation? (Third Ed.) (Paperback)
Jack van der Geest is what Odysseus, Private Ryan, and Forest Gump all pretend to be. His journey is amazing, his personal struggles staggering, and his contact with history is the stuff legends are made of. WAS GOD ON VACATION is sweeping the classrooms of America, and for good reason. We need heroes, badly.From Nazi occupation to a concentration camp "medical" lab, from the French underground to D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the post-war turmoil of South Asia, that this man survived to settle in America (and become an insurance salesman) gives new meaning and value to the American dream so often dismissed as too dull or banal to pass on to our kids. Jack van der Geest endured World War II, but chose Main Street America, where he has personally re-defined citizenship and civic duty with his life. Speilberg should have talked to Jack before he began his SAVING PRIVATE RYAN project. The story of this every-day Joe from South Dakota (by way of Holland) dwarfs anything Hollywood could ever contrive. Don't ever believe the lie that heroes are a thing of the past. New ones are born every day. Just ask Jack van der Geest.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A well documented WWII heroic action of one man,
By
This review is from: Was God on Vacation? (Third Ed.) (Paperback)
This book should be read by all high school children of this country. It is a powerful description of the conditions which existed in Europe until May 1945. As an emigrant from France I returned to Europe and was dropped into occupied France as an OSS/SOE agent. Jack's description of the French escape and evasion network is accurate. It is possible that we have known the same people because two of my uncles were involved with an escape route to Switzerland. The French resistance so often was penetrated by the Gestapo that my uncles never revealed their function to the local Maquis. My home town had several Jewish families, except for one, a school friend, all went to the gas chambers. With the help of the local population, all were taken to waiting cattle cars by the local French police, not the Gestapo, and shipped to Germany . I did not return to my home town for forty years. If Jack as a web page I will kink it to mine with pleasure... E-mail: rene@defourneaux.com
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very powerful book,
By Jake Fehr (Rapid City, South Dakota) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Was God on Vacation? (Third Ed.) (Paperback)
As a school assignment, I was supposed to read Was God On Vacation?, by Jack van der Geest. I thought that this book was amazing. Jack has certainly lived an amazing life from escaping from the Buchenwald concentration camp to storming the beaches of Normandy. He writes in detail all of his suffering. After reading the book I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. van der Geest. He is an amazing man with an amazing story. I think that this is a much better book than Night by Elie Wiesel that has won awards. Jack's book should have won some awards. This is an exciting book, I highly recommend it.
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