The Heart Has Reasons

"You can't let people be treated in an inhuman way around you....Otherwise you start to become inhuman."

So declares rescuer Hetty Vote in this updated edition of The Heart Has Reasons, an acclaimed historical account that offers an in-depth look into the hearts and minds of the Holocaust rescuers and explores the meaning that their lives and deeds have for us today. Individually or in small "humanitarian cells," the ten Dutch people profiled in these pages saved the lives of thousands of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Holland. How did they do what they did-and why did they risk everything to do it?

Although their extraordinary tales of rescue vary greatly, the integrity of the rescuers does not. Thus these narratives provide not only a window on the past but a vision for the future. Framed by Klempner's own quest for meaning, the rescuers' words resonate across generations, providing timeless insight into how people of conscience can navigate ethically in an increasingly complex world.