Ever since his daughter's birth Edmond Joseph Donais would always sit his daughter Marie on his lap, recounting stories of his time in Germany. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) and formed part of the peacekeeping force two months after the Second World War ended. There were pictures in the Donais family album of people in Germany he spent time with and shared these moments with Marie. He told her stories of a boy he met by the name of Johann. During the peacekeeping occupation millions of Germans suffered starvation and Johann's family was not exempt. Marie was introduced through pictures to the boy's family and told of their pain and joys. And though starving, every Sunday the boy's family would share their meals with her father and in turn, he would sacrifice his meals for them, even at the risk of being court-martialed.
Edmond Joseph Donais died in a car accident when his daughter was 11 years old, but Marie Donais,65, still remember those stories vividly, so much so, that she shared them through a series of books and her latest "The Other Side of Liberation" was launched in May.
"Right from the time I was a little girl I was being taught about places in the world where life is very difficult," she said.
Marie Donais who lived in Redvers for some years has written 10 books in her "Other Side" series of novels which are historical fiction based on real people and her father's life. Each of her novels recount different phases of history and includes friends and family. Her eleventh book "The Other Side Liberation" tells the story of the liberation of Holland during WWII where the country was liberated largely by Canadian troops after failed attempts. The book also continues the story of the Donais's father from previous novels, the German boy Johann and her mother all interweaved with the historical event of the Dutch liberation. Now known as Liberation Day in the Netherlands, it is celebrated each year on May 5 by the nation. However on Saturday, June 1 at 3 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Public Library Donais held the official launch of her book. And for the first time, members of the families featured in the novel were present at the event. Jack Van Vaals and his Dutch family billeted Clifford Schnell, a Canadian solider from Coronach, SK. Van Vaals's family immigrate to Canada in the 1950's and after much searching the family found Schnell during the 1990s. The novel explores this bond and brings to life their story. Donais said she has always tried to give her readers a taste of history in her novels and this book she said highlights the Canadian and Dutch relationship.
"I've met a lot of people in the past that have talked about the liberation of the Netherlands and how revered Canadians are in that country We all know a little bit about the liberation but there is a great deal that we do not know,"she said. "This is something that kind of peaks my interest and in each of my books I try to explore an element of history so the eleventh book happens to be the liberation of the Netherlands."
Donais explained that there things that take place today that echoes happenings of the past that a lot of Canadians do not know why they happen. She made reference to the Canadian Tulip Festival that's held in Ottawa every year in May. The festival commemorates and thanks Canadians for sheltering Princess Juliana and her daughters during theNazioccupation of the Netherlands in WWII. In 1945 the Dutch family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa as appreciation during her Canadian exile.
Donais explained that her father did not live a long life but believes that she has to carry the torch her father held, which says represents "doing the right thing."
"My father saw people as people he didn't see them as having a nationality or a color which is probably one of the reason why he was the only one in his entire regiment to disobey the order not to help the starving Germans. And when he did that, he did it knowing he could go to jail, he could be court-martialed, he wasn't a simple man," she said.
"It's almost like my father knew that one day his little Marie was going to write about this he taught me that no matter what, if you set your mind to something you can accomplish it."
She said she knows her father picked her to share stories of the human spirit, a duty she admits can be challenging at time as she is legally blind but the love he shared she says can never be forgotten.
"He was the kind of a daddy that would sit me on his lap and sing to me and rock me, he was a really involved parent. He was very much invested emotionally in his children," she said.
"The Other Side of Liberation" will be available in several towns across the southeast region; in Weyburn at Home Hardware Store, A and A Jewelers in Estevan, Centre Street Groceries in Alida and Carnduff Agencies in Carnduff. The novel is also available online through Borealis Press.
