“An intimate, moving look at the war that extracts deep meaning from the carnage and loss.” Publishers Weekly

What happens when you lose your freedom and the people who eventually get it back for you are no longer alive to thank?

Remember Us, Robert Edsel—#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men—begins in the pre-dawn hours of Hitler’s invasion of Western Europe on May 10, 1940, when his forces rolled into the small rural province of Limburg in the Netherlands shattering more than 100 years of peace. Their freedom gone, the Dutch lived through four-and-a-half years of occupation until American forces reached Limburg in September 1944, the last portion of Western Europe liberated by the Allies before their advance on Nazi Germany slammed to a halt. Like The Monuments Men, Remember Us is an ensemble piece that follows twelve main

characters over a six-year span, zeroing in on ordinary people including Frieda van Schaik, a teenager who falls in love with an American soldier; Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole, the first member of the 101st Airborne to receive the Medal of Honor; and Sergeant Jeff Wiggins of the 960th Quartermaster Service Company, who escaped the poverty and racism of Alabama for yet another indignity—digging graves.

Drawing on never-before-seen letters, diaries, and other historical records, Edsel shows thepainful price of freedom, on the battlefields and inside American homes. In this rich, dramatic, and suspenseful story, he captures both the horrors of war and the transcendent power of gratitude, showing the extraordinary measures the Dutch have taken to thank their liberators. Remember Us is exactly the book we need—a reminder that grief is universal, that humanity knows no national or racial boundaries, and that we all want to be remembered, somehow, someway, by somebody.

The English version of the book “Remember Us” can be ordered through this Amazon link.

This book tells the story of more than 10.000 American boys buried at the military cemetery in Margraten, a small village in the Southern part of the Netherlands, and their Dutch adopters. Stories about the suffering during Nazi occupation, about life, struggle and death of the young American liberators, about the memories and sorrow of their families in the USA. Also a story of many loyal adopters who commemorated end prayed for “their” boys all those years. A story how a small village refused to forget their American friends. Anyone interested in WWII should read this book.

This book can be ordered for €  22,50 forwarding-charges not included. You can order the book by clicking on webshop at the bottom of this page.

Summer 2013. The parents of filmmaker Jotja Bessems meet the family of the soldier whose grave they adopted for the first time. This event is the basis for a modest, emotional and sometimes comical portrait of 70 years of adoption and solidarity. Hub and Nel Bessems, Jotjas’ parents, bring flowers at the grave of Sidney Stuart Beck a couple of times a year. In this documentary we follow the Dutch and the American family since they first met at the American cemetery. The 83-year old Gerda Roebroeks-Nelissen is dreaming for over 70 years to meet family members of her adopted soldier. She was only 13 when she met the American soldier Henry W. Wolff when he was staying in their house during the war. During the day he stood at the artillery guns pointing towards Aachen in Germany. Directly after the war her family adopted his grave. Sidney gets a voice and a face through personal letters and pictures. Beautiful images of Limburg as well as of Sidneys’ hometown in the USA and vivid memories of the adopter of Henry Wolff, illustrated with special historical images. This documentary tells the story of 70 years grave adoption in Margraten.

Our Soldier is a production of Jotja Bessems AV Productions and the Foundation Cooperating Historical Organisations Margraten. (www.facebook.com/onzesoldaat)

Click here for a short Promofilm. The documentary is 47 minutes. The dvd has English subtitles and is suitable for the USA.

Price: € 15,95 forwarding-charges not included. You can order by clicking on the webshop at the bottom of this page.