Passing On The Comfort : The War, The Quilts, and the Women Who Made a Difference

by Lynn Kaplanian-Buller, An Keuning-Tichelaar

          This is a story with many parts and pieces, quite scattered in the beginning. Amazingly, the many pieces have come together to form a design that none of us imagined at first. First there is An in Holland in the early 1940s, fighting to keep the War from taking over her young, promising life. Met with unspeakable horrors, she takes risks that would confound the bravest of souls. At the same time, groups of women across North America meet in sewing circles, making quilts—and then bundling them up and sending them off to do their part to give comfort and courage and respite during the War.           I, Lynn, come 20-some years later, showing up in Amsterdam in the early 1970s, a little rebellious and tired of another war. I didn't know An, and quilts were not something I ever made. But my grandmother and aunts, and other older women in my childhood church, did. And I knew an immigrant's longing for the textures of home. We have scattered images of 19 quilts, which eventually emerge near the heart of this story, throughout the book. These quilts drew An and me to each other. We'll put this story together a little like a quilt top—here a patch, there a patch, until the design emerges, startlingly cohesive. Terrible odds. Determined women. Quilts, well-worn from having been called into active duty.

186 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2005

Reviews

[Claudia Cheyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Tichelaar was a teenager when Hitler's German army invaded her small country, The Netherlands. She grew up quickly, joining the Resistance and doing everything within her power to defeat the enemy as well as saving Jewish people from being captured and sent to concentration camps. An and her family were all Mennonites. They would not bear arms. But they could fight in other ways.
Mennonites in Canada and America sewed quilts which found their way to An's home at a time when their warmth and comfort were desperately needed. After the war, both the quilts and An's wartime memories were packed away in a trunk as she moved on and raised her family. In 1980 Lynn (co-author of the book) met An and saw the quilts. She believed that the story of both the quilts and An's bravery must be shared with the world. Together they combined their stories into the chapters of this interesting book. It will appeal to multiple audiences - whether you like quilts, history, biographies, or you want to know more about the Mennonite religion I would highly recommend reading it.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very special to me for two reasons. Firstly and most importantly, it was a gift from someone of whom I'm very fond. It means a lot to her, and because of that, I was interested. Secondly, Amsterdam (a city I love) is mentioned, and the American Bookstore, which has received a good deal of my money over the last three years, is integral to the life of one of the ladies in the story. It was so nice to read stories of An's travels to Amsterdam and actually know what she was talking about.

An Keuning-Tichelaar and Lynn Kaplanian-Buller came together through such a strange confluence of circumstances. Lynn stayed at a home that had beautiful quilts, fell in love with them, and called the owner, An, asking if she could buy one. They found that they shared a faith, and An found a friend through whom she could share her incredibly brave experiences in the Resistance during World War II.

The book is thoughtfully assembled, with a great many photographs, not only of the quilt that brought An and Lynn together, but of An and Lynn themselves. For the most part, An and Lynn alternate in telling their stories, but if the truth be told, it really is An's show. The work she and her husband did during the War was inspirational, and her sweet smile throughout the book is a beacon calling the reader home.

[Jed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stayed up all night to finish this one, and was glad I did. The whole tale (non-fiction) spins around the author's discovery in the 1980s of war-relief quilts in a rural bed-and-breakfast in the Netherlands made by their Mennonite co-religionists in America in the 1940s.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dutch Mennonite community in Netherlands during WW II