East Hampton, New York - December 23, 2024 - In 2024, an estimated two million books have been published by small, independent (“Indie”) publishers. A new book by a small publisher in East Hampton, New York has been selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the hundred best Indie books published in 2024.
The book is about the Resistance in The Netherlands to the Nazi invasion of 1940 and the occupation, which lasted until 1945. Events of the war years resonate with what is happening today. So it is with Hitler’s seizure of power in 1933 and his sweep through Europe in 1940.
How did the citizens of The Netherlands fight back? That is the topic of a new book by John Tepper Marlin, whose mother wrote a popular book for children about the Resistance, The Winged Watchman (Farrar Straus, 1962, reprinted by Bethlehem Books, 1994). It tells the story—for the first time in English—of the leader and financier of the Dutch Resistance in 1940-1945.
While a country like Austria quickly submitted to Nazi rule, the tiny, unprepared Netherlands mounted a fierce resistance and shot down a hundred Luftwaffe planes. Their tiny army protected their Queen from capture. Outraged by his loss of airplanes to flak, Hitler bombed Rotterdam to the ground. From a haven in Britain, the Queen ordered surrender.
Under Nazi Noseswas published by Boissevain Books. It tells the story of how Walraven van Hall, a Dutch patrician banker, gradually took the reins of the Resistance. As resources dwindled during the war and needs grew, Van Hall undertook a daring heist, removing nearly $1 billion in today’s money from the Nazi-run Dutch State Bank. He audaciously forged Dutch Treasury bills and exchanged them for real ones in the vaults of the State Bank, while the Nazi managers and staff remained unaware. The heist allowed the Resistance to support Jews, striking workers, and other fugitives so that they could survive the Nazi dragnet.
Tragically, Van Hall was betrayed by an informant. Arrested and subjected to fierce interrogation, he never revealed how the bank was defrauded. He was executed in Amsterdam, becoming a martyr of the Resistance movement.
Under Nazi Noses is Marlin’s translated from Erik Schaap’s original, astonishing 2006 Dutch book, edited and annotated for American readers, with more than 750 endnotes, providing crucial historical context for English-speaking readers. Marlin has a special interest in Walraven van Hall because he was his mother’s cousin and was featured in her book on the Dutch Resistance.
Marlin is a seasoned economist and historian. He has written books on military spending and urban livability, and served in government for 22 years, eight in the Federal Government in Washington, DC, and seventeen with the City of New York as Chief Economist for three Comptrollers and as a CUNY economics professor.
For anyone interested in World War II or the Netherlands, this book offers a powerful account of one man’s battle against oppression. Van Hall’s story is a timely reminder of the ingenuity and courage required to stand up to oppression.
For more information, interviews, or a review copy of the book, please contact: BoissevainBooks@gmail.com
Additional Information:
East Hampton, NY
Library Talk: https://bit.ly/3WSh6DA
NPR Book Review: https://n.pr/3SFSrjo
Kirkus Starred Review: bit.ly/4dp3V2L
Buy print copy of the book at a discount: bit.ly/4bJmoFL.
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