If the Netherlands didn’t surrender immediately, the Nazis threatened to destroy Amsterdam and Utrecht the same way. The Dutch government had surrendered. The five-day war was over. Hundreds of thousands of Dutch soldiers were prisoners of war and could be sent east to labor camps.

“Papa! They have my papa!” Ans sobbed. “And Erik!” The losses overwhelmed her —her security, her future, her hope. She now lived under enemy occupation.

Eloise no longer talked of fighting back. She sat on the sofa as if in a trance, staring speechlessly at the radio until night fell, listening to the horrifying descriptions of the devastation in Rotterdam. Grappling with fear and despair herself, Ans couldn’t hope to cheer her. God, help us! Please, please, help us.

Her prayers were answered before dawn on the morning after the surrender when Professor Huizenga arrived home. Ans and Eloise had been asleep in the front room, where they’d been ever since the invasion, and Eloise sprang up to run to him. Ans was so relieved she wanted to hug him too. He gently enfolded Eloise in his arms as if wrapping a priceless object in cotton batting.

“I’ve been desperate to get home ever since the invasion,” he said. “I finally decided to start walking. I’ve been on the road all night. Den Haag is only a dozen miles from here, but the Nazis have tanks and troops and roadblocks everywhere. Bridges are gone, and there are craters in the middle of the roads. I made detour after detour. It’s madness!”

“What happened in Den Haag, Herman? Was it terrible?” Eloise asked. “We heard about Rotterdam.”

He hesitated before saying, “It was just what you’d expect in a war, Eloise; that’s all I will say. I won’t stir your memories by giving details.” She started to protest, but he stopped her. “Look, my darling. I’m here with you now. And we’re both unharmed. The Nazis are promising a benevolent rule if we cooperate.”

“Cooperate! I have no intention of cooperating, and I hope you don’t either!”

“We’ll talk about it after we’ve rested, yes? Right now, I could sleep for a hundred years.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders the way Mama’s hens would use their wings to protect their chicks and led her up the stairs.

Later that day, the church bells at the Pieterskerk summoned everyone to a special service. Ans went alone to mourn with the entire country for the soldiers and civilians who had died. A year ago, she had wanted so badly to leave the farm and move to Leiden, but now she longed more than anything else to go home. Yet she couldn’t desert Eloise, who needed Ans more than ever. After what they’d experienced together these past five days, the loss would be too much for her.