I Was a Stranger Author:John Winthrop Hackett The Dutch underground smuggled General Hackett out of a German-held hospital the first day he could put his feet on the floor. His long convalescence was spent with the de Nooij family, where young and old cared for him as if he had been one of their own. It was a desperately dangerous situation for all of them, as the Germans tightened their ho... more »ld on Holland after Arnhem. Hackett could watch the Germans marching from behind the lace curtains of his window. After several abortive attempts to get out of Holland, he journeyed down a complex escape route, which included twelve miles by canoe along the stormy River Waal in dead of night. His account gives an extraordinary picture of the courage and determination of the family and their friends, of the village and the people of Holland. Touching, stirring, profoundly inspiring, this book shows how the religious beliefs of the family and their secret guest helped strengthen them through an impossible time.« less