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Book Nook: What Did You Do in the War, Sister? by Dennis J. Turner

Dennis Turner was feeling perturbed about some things that have been happening in our country. Fortunately he found a distraction that took his mind away from current events. Turner heard about an archive of letters in Cincinnati-these missives penned by nuns who were living in convents in Europe during World War Two inspired him to write this book.

"What Did You Do in the War, Sister? How Catholic Nuns in Belgium Defied and Deceived the Nazis in World War Two" is a fictional memoir. The narrator of the book is a nun named Sister Christina. She was living in a convent in Belgium when the Nazis invaded. She's a nun with a fascinating back story; she's actually from a small farming community in southwest Ohio.

Turner has taken real events described in their letters and embroidered them into an inspiring story of how a stalwart group of Belgian nuns resisted the Germans. They engaged in all manner of deceptions and subterfuge to save endangered fugitives from capture and execution. The nuns hid Jewish refugees away inside their convent. They assisted other resisters in the rescue of allied fliers who had been shot down over Belgium. These aviators were smuggled out of the country and back to their units to fight once again.

These nuns were courageous and ever so determined. Fascist movements continue to flourish around the world. Those brave nuns never stopped fighting the Nazis until victory was won. Nor should we.

The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library,  Clark County Public LibraryDayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.

 

Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994. Over the years he has produced more than 1500 interviews with writers, musicians, poets, politicians, and celebrities. Listen to the Book Nook with Vick Mickunas for intimate conversations about books with the writers who create them. Vick Mickunas reviews books for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News Sun.