DUTCH TRAGEDY & BETRAYAL IN THE THE TERROR RESISTANCE; RAIDS OF 1942

◗ S.korte; and J. Gore ◗ Pen and Sword (2020) ◗ £19.99; and £25 ◗ 152 and 211 pages (both hardback) ◗ ISBN:9781526784988 & 9781526745132 ◗ pen-and-sword.co.uk

Two‘human interest’stories for you...

The first is an account of the execution of members of the Dutch Resistance and the impact on their families, both during and after the war. Corpses were left in the street as a warning to others, and the Nazis were often careful (if that’s the right word) to expand any hostage-shooting to those already known or strongly suspected to be in the Resistance: random killings would simply foster Resistance recruitment.

The second title concerns the so-called ‘Baedeker blitz’– German reprisals for RAF bomber raids, using cities drawn from the Baedeker tourist guide (Exeter, Bath, Norwich,york and Canterbury are examined here). Initial chapters describe the previous British and German bombing offensives, the bombs and navigation systems, and the civil defence measures – apparently, female Air Raid Precautions (ARP) wardens were better at finding casualties because they often had a better awareness of where household members were likely to be. The book is full of interesting personal accounts of hardship and survival.

Little for wargaming, but much in terms of‘lest we forget’.