And the Money Went Over the Railing
How a Dutch Survivor from WW II Found a Future in the U.S.
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Life takes interesting and unexpected turns. Many years ago, my brother bought an Apple Computer and gave me his old Microsoft machine. I had no knowledge of how to use a computer and decided to use it as a typewriter and write my autobiography. I showed my 250 pages to various literate friends and all insisted that I polish the text and have it published. I somehow delayed my decision to act upon the advice until age 85. The main reason for writing an autobiography is based on the many speeches I gave primarily to students, but also to adults. My talks were about my life’s experiences including growing up in the Netherlands where I lived in a positive and loving environment until the age of 15 when I was thrown into an extremely brutal and cruel environment–the Nazi occupation which lasted for 5 years. I did survive and came to the United States in 1946. The purpose of my speeches was to stimulate thought about “what makes us a truly responsible person”, including facing the responsibilities of each citizen to make a democracy work. I asked each listener to send me a letter responding to my speech and, although there was always a remarkable interest in what I had to say, the subject, for most of my audiences, had never been really considered. I would like to pass on my legacy to anyone interested in the hope that it may be of some benefit.
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About the Book
In the autobiography And the Money Went Over the Railing, James Vanderpol chronicles his life experiences from his happy childhood growing up in a middle-class family in the Netherlands to the day the Nazi occupation began in Amsterdam—ultimately propelling fifteen-year-old Vanderpol into a world of terror and brutality that would last five years.
James Vanderpol shares a fascinating glimpse into a traumatic time in history when Hitler’s rampage forever changed the lives of innocent people around the world. From the cleaning maids who were hired by Germany to spy on the Dutch, to the children’s books that were rewritten to substitute Hitler for the book’s original hero, Vanderpol details how he and his other family members were considered undesirable Jews and slowly came to anticipate and recognize the threat of death, eventually building hiding places within the apartment and elsewhere in preparation of Gestapo raids. Despite several close calls, Vanderpol and his brother survived the war and emigrated to the United States in 1946 where Vanderpol would later enjoy a rewarding career as an accountant.
And the Money Went Over the Railing is a remarkable story about one young man’s bravery and inner strength during a horrifying era in history.
About the Author
James Vanderpol was born in the Netherlands and emigrated to the United States after World War II. After graduating from Rider College and earning his CPA, he worked for such companies as Coopers & Lybrand and Becton Dickinson. He resides in Plaistow, New Hampshire, with his wife, Carol, and cat, Oliver.