The great silent battle

" The Great Silent Battle ... is a true story of the bravery and agony of three people who spent World War II trying to lead 'normal' lives while evading the Nazi rulers in Holland. They were 'average' people, not the famed heroes of the Resistance. However, the everyday acts of these people demonstrate the heroism displayed by the thousands of unsung citizens of this occupied land. Jan Schoumans fell in love during the war years... with a Jewish woman, Rosa. Physically frail, Rosa was scarcely up to enduring the everyday struggle for food and remaining undetected by the Nazis. Many times she wished to give herself up to the Nazis, seeing no hope in her situation. However, with Jan's help, she would survive the war, eventually becoming his wife. During the war years, Jan lived with a friend of Rosa's, the brave Thema. Although she, too, was Jewish, she had the courage not to remain hidden indoors like Rosa. She was quick-witted and very brave and could go out on the streets knowing she could take care of herself in any emergency.Thus she and Jan pretended to be a married couple, while Rosa stayed out in the country." —Book jacket