Recently, the library staff book club met to discuss the biography Dancing with the Enemy by Paul Glaser. As an adult, Glaser went through a series of events that led him to discover that his family was of Jewish background, rather than Catholic like he had always been told. He was shocked to learn that his father and aunt had been one of the fortunate few Jewish citizens of the Netherlands to survive during World War II. As he learned more about his vivacious Aunt Rosie, a dance instructor who survived multiple concentration camps and even taught dance lessons to SS officers in Auschwitz, he knew he needed to write her story and share it with the world.
Library staff members share their thoughts about Dancing with the Enemy below…
What were your thoughts and feelings about Rosie throughout the novel?
Amber Wessies, Instruction Librarian, answered: I thought Rosie was a bit selfish, but I think her behavior throughout the novel was the way she coped. Even before the war, there were many instances where I think she was doing whatever she could to survive. She didn’t always plan for the future and seemed to live in the present more. However, she did do some planning, so I think some of her more questionable behavior was a protection mechanism.
Melissa Moore, Library Director, answered: Honestly, I didn’t really like her. I just couldn’t connect with her, and that’s unusual for me in a book of this sort.
Micah Rhodes, Cataloging Associate, answered: I found Rosie to be a very engaging character to follow through the narrative of her life as a Dutch Jew before and during the second World War. Her passionate, charismatic, and impulsive approach to life was quite a different outlook from my own, and some of her decisions were so surprising I was left incredulous. For example, she regularly used various means to obscure her identity, even at one point bluffing her way into a German work camp to visit her father. I can’t imagine how she remained calm enough to willingly walk into such a camp without drawing suspicion. Her story was so captivating that I read the entire book in a single day!
Sara Hand, Circulation Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: I was impressed by Rosie’s sheer optimism for life and the focused pursuit she displayed in getting what she wanted. I kept thinking that I would love to see her life depicted as a movie. She went through everything a Jewish person could experience during World War II and lived to tell her story. I kept thinking, “God really wanted her to live.” I was in awe of her survival.
Did you connect with the writing style? Why or why not?
Amber answered: I thought the writing style was fast paced which I enjoyed and I think fit well for Rosie’s personality. The writing was not like any other WWII novel I have read. I don’t think it downplayed the atrocities, but it was simply a different take. It didn’t seem as sad as other WWII novels.
Melissa answered: I did like the writing style. Knowing it was Glaser’s own account, and how it moved between Rosie’s story and his own, was interesting to me.
Micah answered: Rosie’s unique mentality also affected the way she coped with the horrors she witnessed in concentration camps like Auschwitz. In her memoirs, she remarks that she couldn’t let herself dwell on those terrible things she experienced because she knew it would cause her to break down. Thus, her description of such events is often stark, concise, and blunt. She also is keen to point out “kindnesses” that she received from people, even Germans in authority at the camps. This can cause her voice to seem rather callous or naive throughout the novel, and several of my colleagues mentioned that made it hard for them to find her relatable as a narrator. I agree, but as I already found her quite different (and less “relatable” in that sense) from myself, I wasn’t too bothered by this and instead mainly understood her style as the result of someone who survived by blocking traumatic experiences out. Healthy or not, it seemed she knew that as a person of passion, she would fall too deep into a well of emotion if she allowed herself to fully process what happened to her. Her method of survival was to keep moving forward, even while recounting the past.
Sara answered: The writing style seemed journalistic, and at times I would have liked to feel more emotion while reading. However, I was able to infer the feeling behind the words even if it was not stated. Since it is a biography, I knew it would not flow like a regular novel.
What do you think of Paul Glaser’s decision to write the biography, despite many in his family wanting him to remain silent?
Amber answered: I wonder if Paul had some similar personality traits to Rosie in that he needed to do what he needed to do. Also, I think in some ways it wasn’t the best idea for the family to hide their past although I do understand their reasons for doing so. Writing the book was probably Paul’s way of processing everything he discovered.
Melissa answered: I am glad he did. I believe all the stories related to the Holocaust need to be told and passed on, so no one forgets what a horror it was.
Micah answered: Glaser’s gradual discovery of his family’s history was just as interesting as learning about the history itself. This book brought to my attention many things I did not know about the Netherlands, the Jewish community, and the pre- and post-war experiences of Holocaust survivors. I understand the sentiment of Glaser’s family members; they probably never thought that their Jewish heritage would be used to attack them at such a scale, just as we think that something so terrible can’t possibly happen again. But because they were attacked in such a way, a perfectly logical response is to bury that heritage so deep that it can’t ever be taken advantage of again. I understand the sentiment, but I don’t agree with it. I am glad Glaser chose to write, edit, and publish the joint biography. It’s important to learn about history so that we can do our best to avoid replicating mistakes of the past. As an example, I don’t think all the Dutch people who betrayed their Jewish neighbors to the Germans knew the extent of the fate to which they had doomed their fellow countrymen. Additionally, Rosie’s story reveals in detail how the Dutch government failed to care for its citizens affected by the Holocaust. But by virtue of the hindsight we have today, we can clearly see how these actions led to the deep hurt, alienation, and nearly complete annihilation of the Dutch Jewish population. Because Paul Glaser chose to publicly tell his family’s story, we can and should use this hindsight to avoid, identify, and stop similar movements we see today before history repeats itself.
Sara answered: At first I felt shocked that any in his family would try to stop him from telling such an important story, but then again, I never realized how much of a ripple effect the holocaust had even fifty years after it occurred. It makes sense that his family would be apprehensive about the consequences of publishing the book and it makes me wonder how many other people have published stories about the holocaust against their family’s wishes.
Are there any other thoughts about the biography you would like to share?
Amber answered: I had read Corrie Ten Boom’s autobiography, The Hiding Place, right before reading this biography and I was really struck by the ways faith affected both women so differently. Reading both novels made me more aware and grateful for my faith and the knowledge that God is sovereign.
Micah answered: I’m glad this book was our club’s choice this time! It definitely pushed me outside of my normal reading circles, and I certainly learned a lot.
Sara answered: I appreciated the very different perspective this biography offered in describing the horrors of the holocaust and the after-effects of World War II. It’s a book that I will remember for years to come.
You can find Dancing with the Enemy in the D section of our main stacks.
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