Hank Opdendries

Footprints in the Sands of Time (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

One of ten children, born in 1924 in a little Dutch town close to the German border, Hank OpdenDries grew up in a world surrounded by farms and wooded hills, a life much in contrast to the fast-paced world we understand, where the simple appearance of a car would be met with fascination by an entire village; the most common mode of transport at that time being the horse. As the hungry thirties set in, rumors of war precipitated by Hitlers Germany threatened to turn Hanks world upside down. When the invasion came, his world was transformed forever. Witnessing firsthand the German invasion of his homeland, Hank soon found himself, along with many other able-bodied Dutchmen, forced to work in the Ruhr to help the German war effort. Escaping back to the Netherlands, Hank went underground with a number of his friends, remaining in occupied Holland for the duration of the war. Helping to shelter a down British airman (who eventually escaped using the Dutch rail network while still dressed in his RAF uniform), Hank also saw Hitlers infamous V-2 rockets take flight, along with the Nazis sadistic treatment of Hollands Jewish population. Liberated from German occupation by Canadian soldiers in 1945, three years later, Hank found himself starting a new life as an immigrant to Canada. Vividly retold, Hanks story is one of survival and resistance in a time of unprecedented violence and treachery. His story is about not only tragedy but also heroism. In short, it is the story of Holland in the Second World War and one mans determination to build a new life for himself in the country that gave him his freedom.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Xlibris US
• Seitenzahl: 464
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. April 2015
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781503560734
• Artikelnr.: 52574288

Autorenporträt

Currently, Hank OpdenDries, at ninety years of age, continues to live at home on their farm with his wife of sixty-three years and the support of loving family. These memoirs have been written to capture the lives and faith of ordinary people who faced generations of change, turmoil, and suffering, and ever strengthening in peace, hope, and love. Our writer, with little education as a child in Holland, has spent his lifetime continuing to gain knowledge, education, spiritual growth, and various skills in order to support his family. Hank is an accomplished bricklayer, auto body mechanic, dairy farmer, painter, and most of all, husband and father. His journey will take you from their homeland in Holland in a time of horse and buggy or bicycles to a world ravaged by World War II, bombs, and devastating losses. Canadian immigration with his parents and nine siblings saw Hank working in the sugar beets in Southern Alberta, along with many other immigrants, and finally settling in Central Alberta. These ordinary people took everything they had experienced and suffered, and put their hearts, faith, and hope into developing a foundation for homes, schools, and churches. Hank has injected some personal opinion on the different impacts and impressions from his lifetime. While doing so only proves his passion for creating a record of the ordinary immigrant as seen through one man's eyes and walking step forward at a time. No two footprints will ever leave the same impression, however; each man's footprint has its own story to tell in our journey of life.