Dancing With the Enemy: My Family's Holocaust Secret

by Paul Glaser

The gripping story of the author’s aunt, a Jewish dance instructor who was betrayed to the Nazis by the two men she loved, yet managed to survive WWII by teaching dance lessons to the SS at Auschwitz. Her epic life becomes a window into the author’s own past and the key to discovering his Jewish roots.

Raised in a devout Roman Catholic family in the Netherlands, Paul Glaser was shocked to learn as an adult of his father's Jewish heritage. Grappling with his newfound identity and stunned by his father’s secrecy, Paul set out to discover what happened to his family during World War II and what had caused the long-standing rift between his father and his estranged aunt, Rosie, who moved to Sweden after the war. Piecing together his aunt’s wartime diaries, photographs, and letters, Paul reconstructed the dramatic story of a woman who was caught up in the tragic sweep of World War II.

Rosie Glaser was a magnetic force – hopeful, exuberant, and cunning. An emancipated woman who defied convention, she toured Western Europe teaching ballroom dancing to high acclaim, falling in love hard and often. By the age of twenty-five, she had lost the great love of her life in an aviation accident, married the wrong man, and sought consolation in the arms of yet another. Then the Nazis seized power. For Rosie, a nonpracticing Jew, this marked the beginning of an extremely dangerous ordeal. After operating an illegal dance school in her parents’ attic, Rosie was betrayed by both her ex-husband and her lover, taken prisoner by the SS and sent to a series of concentration camps. But her enemies were unable to destroy her and, remarkably, she survived, in part by giving dance and etiquette lessons to her captors. Rosie was an entertainer at heart, and her vivacious spirit, her effervescent charm, and her incredible resourcefulness kept her alive amid horrendous tragedy. Of the twelve hundred people who arrived with her at Auschwitz, only eight survived. Illustrated with more than ninety photos, Dancing with the Enemy recalls an extraordinary life marked by love, betrayal, and fierce determination. It is being published in ten languages.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, Memoir, World War II, Biography, War

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Paul Glaser was born in the Netherlands shortly after World War II. He has held management positions in a number of educational and health-care institutions, including periods as director of a psychiatric hospital and as CEO of a large organization working with the mentally handicapped. He has also been involved in the establishment of a historical printing museum, a regional theater, and a Montessori secondary school.

Reviews

[Anne Goldschrift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wahrscheinlich das erste Buch aus der Zeit des Holocaust, das ich absolut nicht weiterempfehlen kann.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on personal diaries

“Dancing with the Enemy” is the fascinating chronicle of a Dutch Jewish woman caught in all the World War II madness as told by her nephew Paul. Rosie was turned in twice to the officials, once by her ex-husband and the second time by a lover. They each earned 500 guilders for their efforts as did any other Dutch citizen who conspired in a similar fashion with the Nazi’s against the Jews. This book is particularly upsetting because it highlights the myth that the Dutch did everything they could to thwart Germany when their country was occupied. According to Rosie and Paul this was absolutely not true. Financially the Netherland, like most other countries at the time, were not doing well. When the Germans took over and imprisoned such a large group of people there were suddenly jobs for those who were left plus the money was a great incentive for betrayal. One of the statistics that Paul quotes is that 72% of Dutch Jews were incarcerated by the Germans who invented genocide (this time around) while Germany itself only imprisoned about 24% and Paul feels the true number was closer to 85% since the officials counted the people they couldn’t find as having immigrated.

Rosie was a spirited woman with a strong life force. She wasn’t ruthless but she did what she could to survive and help her father, mother and brother survive as well. Her life in the camps was nightmarish of course. She once was assigned to help lead people to the gas chambers and then to drag the bodies out afterwards. When she discovered the body of a cousin she begged to be reassigned to another duty and was successful. She never lived in the Netherlands again after the war because of how her fellow citizens treated her and others. One of the best things about this book is its exploration of family dynamics after the war. Rosie and her brother Paul became estranged after the war with both of the harboring resentments towards the other. Who knows if this same situation would have occurred if WWII hadn’t happened but it almost felt like they were blaming one another for things outside their control. Germany and some Dutch citizens committed atrocities against Jews and others. It’s sad to read about that getting mixed in somehow between family members. Though “Dancing with the Enemy” is told clearly the language feels stilted. I don’t know if it’s because of the translation or because neither Paul nor Rosie are/were professional writers. This is an important account though, obviously, emotionally taxing.

This review is based on an advance reader’s copy provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer given as required by the FTC.)

[Mom2nine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My five star ratings are very few, but this one was a must, as I told everyone, with whom I came in contact while reading it, how well this book is written. This book is a true story about the author's aunt. He had access to letters and journals and interviewed numerous survivors. The book does not read like a dissertation or history book, though, but is so well written that it could be fiction. Aunt Rosie is an amazing main character, she describes her and her friends as "a team of strong-willed, hardened optimists". They encounter the violence of numerous prison camps, but the story is never overdone and stands on its own, perhaps that is part of the reason. A very real chronicle of many people who lived through the occupation of Nazi troops.
I cannot say enough good about this book. The author has a story to tell and the capability to do the story justice.
I received this book in a goodreads contest, with the understanding of a fair and unbiased review.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am fascinated with the human reactions to the European events leading up to and during World War II. How did the National Socialist party rise to power? Why did people support them? How did some many fall under their spell? Did the average citizen know what was really happening? How could the average person turn a blind to and/or support the expulsion of their neighbors? What compelled average people to try to stand up and try to save their neighbors?

So far this year I have read two books where a current generation finds that family history is not what has been passed down from the WWII generation. Dancing with the Enemy is a fascinating look at how harshly family members judge and blame another family member that survived the camps.

Paul Glaser is a businessman, not a writer. I think that is a bonus because he lets his Aunt Rosie’s history and stories speak for themselves. Rosie speaks in first person as he pulls his material from her diaries and letters. There are lots of photos as Rosie buried her photo albums when she feared arrest was imminent. I enjoyed his first person accounts of how he discovered his history and his Aunt.

The Glaser Family was in the Netherlands. The proportion of Jews murdered in the Netherlands was higher than in any of its neighboring countries, including Germany. Their actions after the war were also despicable including trying to tax survivors on money and property that had been confiscated and never returned. Very few Dutch Glaser’s survived. Paul pays an honest tribute to the family he never knew.

As with all of us, Rosie is not a perfect person and she did the best she could to survive horrible conditions. In spite of the evil around her, she never lost her spirit, sense of fun or her desire to live. I would have liked to have known Rosie.

I gave this four stars not for the writing, but for the power of the life.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to review for me. Because my dislike bordering on an aversion level of distaste for Rosie herself got in my way for the entire read. It is written with her voice and diaries in some sections, first person- and in other lengthy sections the narrative is in her nephew's voice, half a century later in time. It's gritty, evil and as torturous- all characteristics of Auschwitz itself, in parts for both descriptions and experiences. Rosie is the ultimate survivor. She is a party girl and drama queen personality from her own Day 1, a natural born entertainer, and a girl/woman who absolutely has core instinct to know exactly what any male wants to hear at any point in time- and in her 4 best known languages. No little skill.

This is her own story of life as she lived it before, during and after WWII. First in Germany, then as a Dutch citizen who eventually becomes Swedish by choice. And the story of her larger family's knowledge and history of her legacy through her nephew. And their own present day descendant self-identity knowledge of family definition related to it.

It is not an easy or smooth read. Choppy and sometimes stilted to emotion? Hard to describe but you know it when you read it. It could be the language translation, but I think it is more than that. The highly changing and erratic switches in directions she has made in her life- especially in her young life seem to have jumps? Many dancing partners, lovers, some husbands and the transitions are not always clear in full purpose or logical explanation. Not to me. But she is a mighty survivor- that is the truth. And seemed to be quite a dancer on top of it. The number of photographs of her from all time periods, considering the chaos and places in location! Impressive of her skill and art in being "the girl". And they all, except one I could find (the Danish border rescue picture)seem to have a beaming smile or jumping enthusiasm, or seductive simmer. ALL HAPPY, happy face. And cheeky to the max.

It was hard for me to get past the fact of her actions of either totally cutting out her parents and family connections at various points and then coming to them for succor at others. If the writing was a bit more even it might have been a full 4 star. 3.5

And the 72% rate of Dutch Jewish fatality reported by Paul Glaser seems to tell a different story than the most commonly held assumption that the Netherlands did more to protect its Jewish population than some other occupied nations. In fact, quick the opposite.

[Melissa Rogalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die schlechten Bewertungen wurden von empathielosen, frauenfeindlichen Opportunisten geschrieben

[Chris Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. This one caught me a bit by surprise. Originally I had figured it was going to be just another perspective on the Holocaust through the eyes of a survivor(still incredibly interesting to me, which is why I decided to read it in the first place) -- and to some extent it was. But this book was layered with concepts/ideas that I had never quite thought about in relation to the Holocaust, mainly because I am not tied to the events in any way, shape or form--only looking from the outside in. It follows two dialogues, one of the author Paul, who tells us of his path to discovering his hidden Jewish heritage, and the other through the eyes of his great aunt Rosie, a Holocaust survivor who had one of the most incredible stories of survival that I could have imagined (part of me wishes her stories were longer and more detailed). Her story really put in perspective not only the lengths that people had to go to to actually survive during the occupation, but the complete naivete and downright indifference that the non-Jewish residents in all of Europe and the Dutch government showed leading up to war, and in years to come after the war. From being turned in to the police twice by ex-lovers, to using her good looks and charm to avoid death in the camps at all costs, to years of battles with the Dutch government over lost/stolen property and compensation, Rosie continued to live optimistically until her dying day; the same optimism and free-spirit that was her key to survival.

Paul's portion of the book really speaks to the affects on not only the victims/survivors, but the families for generations after the war and how they dealt with the past, which was something I had no real way to relate to from other books or personal experience. It was incredibly grounding to read first-hand his journey to discovering a hidden side of his family which he had only stumbled upon through chance, one that had been covered up and ignored for decades. It's as close as one on the outside is going to get to truly understanding the trauma that occured.

Definitely worth the read!

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever disliked a character as much as I did Rosie, the "dancer" in the book's title. Her diaries which form the basis for the story, depict a narcissist, intent on proving how fearless, desirable & talented she was. The Holocaust Secret is that she was dissociated from the horrors of her experiences in the camps, which she presents as yet another adventure in her glamorous life. I found this to be an insult to the millions who were tortured & perished in the camps. Rosie was an opportunist who slept with men to feed her ego; the SS were no exception. As far as the book's structure, it was horribly edited; the discovery of the author's Jewish roots were boring & the time-line was choppy. The five-star ratings are truly baffling. This was not a well-written book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at the author's aunt, Rosie Glacer (put an acute accent over the e), who survived the Holocaust by using just about anything it took to survive in hiding, in Westerbork and Vught in the Netherlands, and in Auschwitz. A professional ballroom dancer, Glacer left diaries and letters and met with her nephew in her later years. Author Paul Glaser was reared as a Catholic and didn't know of his Jewish heritage until he was an adult, married, and a father. His own father wouldn't talk about their heritage or the war. Almost the entire extended family was murdered in the Holocaust, with Rosie as one of a handful of survivors. While some of Rosie's actions may have been questionable, if I had been with her, I would have wanted her as a friend--and given the situations that she was in, I don't feel qualified to judge. Another aspect of the book is Rosie's indictment of many of the Dutch people who cooperated with the Nazis and betrayed Jews in hiding for the reward money, and then after the war, all claimed to have been in the Resistance. (Some good Dutch people helped her.) Rosie would have been a fascinating person to know, and I'm glad Paul Glaser discovered and told her story.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
Com medo de ser mais uma história de um sobrevivente do Holocausto que acabam todas, de certa forma, se misturando na minha cabeça, esse livro foi surpreendente! Confesso que quando ele foi o eleito para ser lido, não estava muito animada. Acho que não estava muito na “vibe” de ler um livro pesado e sério assim no fim de ano.

Porém, como eu disse, me surpreendeu, e surpreendeu muito! A história e luta da Rosie Glaser é fenomenal! Não apenas a história dela, mas o fato que o autor e sobrinho dela, o Paul Glaser, entrelaçar sua história com a dela foi imensamente interessante. Enquanto ele nos levava através dos anos, das traições e desafios que sua tia passou, ele nos introduzia e desenvolvia sua própria história. Então enquanto lemos o livro, vamos lendo como foi o processo de criá-lo. Achei isso incrível!

Além desse método diferente de estruturar o livro, Paul Glaser nos acompanha através das mais diversas emoções. Senti raiva, compaixão, medo e esperança ao longo dessas quase 300 páginas. Foram muitos desafios que Rosie Glaser teve de superar e torci por ela a cada página. Apesar de terem sido muitos desafios, o livro não pareceu se prolongar de forma desnecessária em nenhum deles, o que poderia ter o tornado arrastado.

Não consigo imaginar o trabalho que o autor deve ter tido para pesquisar todos os fatos e conseguir estruturá-los de forma coerente e linear. A história toda, apesar de já ter lido diversos livros sobre a Segunda Guerra Mundial e o Holocausto, foi, de certa forma, inovadora! Descobri muitos fatos dos quais eu não sabia, então além de ter sido um livro de entretenimento, também foi muito educacional.

Acho que o que fez esse livro ainda mais especial foi que um parente da personagem principal foi quem o escreveu. Talvez o carinho que ele tem pela obra conseguiu ser traduzido e levado para os leitores. Além disso, ele mostrou o pós-guerra, um cenário que é pouco reproduzido nos livros que li sobre esta época. Então ver como a Holanda tratou os sobreviventes, a dificuldade que todos tiveram de reaver seus bens, pertences e dinheiro e a mudança de país e cultura no caso da Rosie foi extremamente elucidativa.

Foi um livro com temática mais do que abordada, porém diferente de qualquer um que já li. Com muitas reviravoltas (todas verídicas!), o autor consegue manter o leitor cativado do início ao fim! Com imagens para ilustrar os personagens e época, a obra traz uma imersão completa ao leitor, trazendo entretenimento e história numa mistura perfeita.

Sobre a edição – Tenho que confessar que fiquei um pouco decepcionada com a 1ª edição deste livro, publicada pela Rocco. Por esperar um pouco mais de uma editora tão conhecida, encontrei alguns erros de digitação e inclusive uma frase com uma palavra faltando! Não chega a atrapalhar a leitura, nem nada, mas esperava mais de um livro da Rocco. Por outro lado, achei bem legal que foram adicionadas fotos e cartas originais ao texto, dando um pouco mais de concretude à saga.

[PRoMete · Rating 5 out of 5]

O dəhşətin içinə girə bilmək üçün çox yaxşı əsərdir. Tam çılpaqlığı ilə yəhudi qırğınını göstərən əsərdir. Dəhşətlidir. İnsanlar insanları niyə qırsın ki?

[Floor Loïse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️'s

toen ik 14 was, kwam Paul Glaser, de auteur van dit boek, een lezing geven op mijn middelbare school over het verhaal van zijn tante Roosje. destijds pakte dit mij enorm, aangezien ikzelf een (wat verre) Joodse achtergrond heb en mijn overgrootouders allen zelf vreselijke dingen hebben meegemaakt tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
vorige jaar, 7 jaar na de lezing, kwam ik het boek tegen in de boekhandel in mijn stad. ik dacht meteen terug aan de lezig, en aan mijn vader, die een enorme interesse heeft in oorlogsverhalen. ik heb het boek destijds voor hem gekocht.

nadat hij het gelezen had, kwam hij enthousiast naar mij toe en zei dat ik het ook echt moest lezen. het heeft enige tijd geduurd, maar nu heb ik het in 4 dagen uit kunnen lezen. het verhaal van Roosje is enorm ingrijpend, en over deze gebeurtenissen lezen vanuit het perspectief van één persoon (als we Paul's stukken even niet meerekenen) maakt het nog belangrijker.

[Evelien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Afgelopen weekend bezocht ik de expositie over Roosje in het Verzetsmuseum. https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/...
daarna volgde ik met vriendinnen de lezing door Paul Glaser. Naar aanleiding daarvan kocht ik het boek en heb het in één ruk uitgelezen. Het indrukwekkende verhaal verveelde me geen moment!

Roosje Glaser is een jonge Joodse vrouw uit Den Bosch die als danslerares werkt. Ze is zeer succesvol en danst in Amsterdam, Londen, Parijs en Berlijn. Wanneer de nationaalsocialisten aan de macht komen, begint voor Roosje een levensgevaarlijk avontuur. Haar eigen man verraadt haar aan de nazi's. Ze komt terecht in verschillende concentratiekampen, maar Roosje overleeft zelfs Auschwitz.

Bijzonder aan het boek is dat de schrijver, Paul Glaser, de neef is van de hoofdpersoon. Tijdens een bezoek aan Auschwitz ziet hij in een vitrine een koffer uit Nederland staan, met daarop zijn achternaam geschreven. Het is het begin van een zoektocht naar een lang verborgen familiegeheim: de verzwegen lotgevallen van zijn tante Roosje. Na aanvankelijke twijfel gaat hij toch op onderzoek uit en ontdekt dit bijzondere levensverhaal over een bijzondere vrouw. Hij heeft Roosje gesproken en haar dagboeken, foto's en brieven gebruikt voor het boek. In het boek bespreekt Glaser ook zijn eigen zoektocht naar de verzwegen geschiedenis en zijn overwegingen om het wel of niet openbaar te maken.

[Jennifer Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

They Never Broke Rosie She Always Shined Bright!!

I have read many stories about WW2 and I have enjoyed them but this one.....I have got to say that this one had me in tears more than any other before.
I felt like I had been through just about every range of emotion with Rosie in this story with her. I felt her betrayal when she and her mother were arrested by the Dutch police. I felt her sadness when she realized she would never have children in her life. I applauded her spunk when she did things her way.

Paul Glaser did a great job IMO with this. I especially loved the pictures that were included along with the story instead of at the end. I think it made for the story to be more real, with the photos included along with the story at the same time your getting to see a face along with the person's words. Real clever!!

If you enjoy this type of historical reading than I highly recommend it. Thanks for sharing your family's story Paul Glaser, I for one think your aunt Rosie was one heck of a woman. Thanks for sharing her with me.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a dedicated reader of the holocaust and the atrocities that unfolded for years. Although I respect the perspective of Rosie from the Netherlands I'm confused. Her account of navigating through relationships, betrayals, and concentration camps during this time seemed selfish, distorted and shallow. Maybe she had to trivialize the war in order to mentally survive it - I don't know. I was uncomfortable reading about her affairs, and her methods of providing entertainment at the camp and her lack of anguish when her parents were relocated to a death camp. This is a difficult subject to ever understand.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Rosie's story was amazing and inspiring. She was quite a rebel for her time and lived an adventurous life both before and after the war. The fact that she survived multiple concentration camps--including Auschwitz--is a true testament to her nature. No matter what happened, she remained positive and optimistic. I highly recommend this memoir. It was a truly fascinating read.

[Nancy Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the perspectives of her nephew Paul and the diaries, photographs, letters, and interviews of his Aunt Rosie comes the true life story of Rosarita (Rosie) Glaser, the irrepressible, unstoppable, and clever woman, who lived in and survived horrendous conditions at several concentration camps including Auschwitz.

As a citizen of The Netherlands, Rosie grew up loving music and dancing even running a dance school, which became illegal under the Dutch Nazis. Like the Germans, Rosie became a person non grata because of her Jewish background. Even more than the Germans, the Dutch wanted to wipe the Jews out of existence (and nearly succeeded by murdering 72% of the Jewish population in The Netherlands).

Through her own words, through family photographs, and through letters both sent and received, Rosie writes of her loves, her betrayals, her ability to charm, and her ability to dance and sing. She tells of her life in the various concentration camps including how she survived.

Her nephew Paul, raised as a Catholic, knew nothing of his background until he was a grown man, but having discovered it, he set out to meet his aunt and uncover the family secret: that of being Jewish.

Both heartbreaking and uplifting, the story shows the determination of Rosie to survive her ordeal as well as the people who helped and those who betrayed. 4.5 stars

[Joseph Sciuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

You would think that after reading numerous books on the Holocaust that I would know a lot more than I do, but after reading each book I realize how little I still know. "Dancing with the Enemy," is an extraordinary story about a unique, intelligent, talented woman (Rosie Glaser) who survives a number of Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, with her astonishing good looks, dancing ability, sleeping with the enemy, and her ability to speak four languages.

Betrayed by her former husband and dance partner, then by her current lover, she and her parents are arrested by the Dutch authorities simply because she is Jewish. They are first placed in a number of holding camps, run by the SS, in the Netherlands. It is in these first camps that she makes her secretarial and organizational abilities known to an SS officer.

Shortly thereafter, they start sleeping together, with the added benefits for Rosie of much more food, unlimited freedom to walk around the camp, and to be the highlight performer at a club where the officers gathered together to get drunk and where Rosie teaches them to dance.

If this seems like a betrayal and siding with the enemy it just might be, except for the fact that the extra food she gets she gives to starving prisoners and the information she gets from her lover keeps her abreast of the real motives of the SS.

Rosie is a survivor and not only does her techniques help her survive Auschwitz but, in turn, she helps other prisoners survive and, like her, eventually find freedom.

I highly recommend this book. It not only highlights the different and creative methods survivors used to finally reach that place we call freedom, but in the real life character of Rosie Glaser the reader is introduced to a unique, captivating, highly unusual woman who this reader found to be truly heroic.

[Inge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik ben altijd geïntrigeerd door verhalen uit de oorlog. Wat bewoog mensen, waarom koos de een voor dit en de ander voor dat. Dit boek lag al een tijd op de plank. Ik dacht dat het een van de zovele verhalen was. Maar na het lezen toch weer ontzettend onder de indruk. Wat een verhaal. En wat een sterke, moedige vrouw. Ook laat het zien dat goed/fout nooit zwart/wit is. Ik ben ook onder de indruk ervan dat deze vrouw mede al deze ervaringen heeft moeten doorstaan doordat veel Nederlanders ijverig voor de Nazi’s werkten. Mooi hoe haar neef haar verhaal heeft opgeschreven en zo een mooi monument heeft gemaakt voor zijn tante en zo ook voor alle Joodse slachtoffers van deze waanzinnige oorlog. Een aanrader voor ieder die geïnteresseerd is in persoonlijke verhalen uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog.

[Soraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luisterboek: allereerst ben ik echt fan van de stem van Charlotte Lap.
Verder is het echt een ontzettend goed boek. Wat een fantastische vrouw lijkt Roosje mij, die echt inspireert. Niets uit die tijd had mogen blijven, behalve hoe veel er werd gedanst en hoe heerlijk dat lijkt te zijn geweest! Dat doen we nu toch echt een stuk minder.
Het is erg goed geschreven, heel duidelijk en vlot en daardoor niet lastig om de aandacht er bij te houden (naast de interesse in het onderwerp). Zeker een aanrader!

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

would not have thought i would like it but i did, easy read

[Karin Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een mooi boek, dit moet je gelezen hebben. Het leest alsof je er zelf bij bent.

[Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemplation rose

[Sabine]

Mich hat dieser Erfahrungsbericht sehr aufgewühlt und das, obwohl ich schon vieles aus dieser Zeit gelesen habe. Er ist tragisch, sehr offen und ehrlich und gibt dem Leser auch noch Einblicke in die Zeit nach der Befreiung – und das hat mir – zumindest was die Niederlande angeht – nochmal ganz neue Aspekte und Informationen geliefert.

Das Buch wird aus zweierlei Sicht erzählt – einmal aus Sicht des Autors Paul Glaser, der mehr zufällig anfängt, in seiner Familiengeschichte zu stöbern und den man bei seinen Recherchen begleitet. Die andere Sicht ist die seiner Tante Roosje, die aus ihrem Leben erzählt, wie sie eine Tanzschule eröffnet, wie es zunehmend schwieriger wird als Jüdin in den Niederlanden, was sie dann in Auschwitz erlebt und wie sie schließlich befreit wird und dann ein neues Leben in Schweden beginnt.

Das Buch liest sich sehr flüssig, sicherlich auch der eingehenden und einfachen Sprache wegen, die aber authentisch klingt und den Leser mitten ins Geschehen entführt. Mich hat aber vor allem die Geschichte Roosjes sehr gefesselt. Sie beschreibt ihre verschiedenen Etappen sehr lebhaft und lebendig und bewahrt sich trotz aller schrecklicher Erlebnisse immer noch ihren Optimismus. Wahrscheinlich hat dieser ihr auch das Leben gerettet, denn ein „ich kann nicht mehr“ gab es für Roosje nicht, egal, was passierte, hat sie für sich immer nach Lösungen gesucht – und auch gefunden, egal wie widrig die Umstände auch waren. Mich hat diese Willenskraft und Stärke sehr beeindruckt, mir nochmal aufgezeigt, was Menschen aushalten können, aber auch, was sie am Leben hält.

Interessant waren aber auch die Erfahrungen, die Paul Glaser im Rahmen seiner Recherchen macht. Zunächst stößt er auf ein großes Schweigen, kaum einer weiß genaueres oder die, die etwas wissen, wollen nicht reden. Es ist schon interessant, wie unterschiedlich Menschen mit dem Thema Holocaust umgehen – die einen verschweigen und wollen gar nichts mehr davon hören, die anderen wollen genau das nicht – schweigen, sondern gegen das Vergessen reden. Bemerkenswert finde ich auch, was diese Erfahrung dann mit einer Familie machen kann – wie sie das Zusammenleben beeinflusst und auch den Umgang mit anderen schwierigen Themen – wird eher geredet oder doch eher geschwiegen.

Mich hat dieses Buch sehr beeindruckt – nicht der schrecklichen Erlebnisse wegen, die Roosje zur Zeit des Holocaust durchmachte (und auch später noch, als sie wirklich unangenehme Erfahrungen mit ihrem Geburtsland machte), sondern vor allem wegen ihrer Stärke und ihrem Optimismus, den sie ausgestrahlt und nie verloren hat. Ich finde es faszinierend, wie Menschen sich in Ausnahmesituationen verhalten und was sie am Leben erhält – Roosje ist da ein tolles Beispiel, eine starke Frau, die sich nicht hat unterkriegen lassen und so auch das schlimmste Kapitel deutscher Geschichte überlebte.

Mein Fazit
Ein beeindruckender Erfahrungsbericht einer jungen Holländerin, die sicher vor allem durch ihre Stärke und ihren Optimismus den Holocaust überlebte. Obwohl Schreckliches beschrieben wird, sprüht das Buch doch voller Optimismus, eine Einstellung, die der Protagonistin Roosje das Leben rettete und mich sehr fasziniert hat. Wer sich für diese Zeit interessiert, dem kann ich diese Biographie sehr ans Herz legen – sie rückt noch mal andere Gesichtspunkte in den Vordergrund, und ich bin sehr froh, sie gelesen zu haben.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to receive this book as a goodreads giveaway.

I have always been drawn to books about the Holocaust, so of course I was happy to get the chance to review an ARC of this book. Though of course the subject matter is extremely depressing, this book did a wonderful job providing new insight, for me at least, into WWII. I'm used to reading Holocaust books that take place in Germany or Poland, but Dancing provided a lot of information about life before and after in the Netherlands. This information made the war more real for me, and though that saddened me as I read Dancing, we cannot forget our past so that we won't be doomed to make the same mistakes again.

I will admit that Rosie might not be my most favorite person, but that didn't take anything away from the fact that I was reading true events from a Holocaust survivor. Her story is still amazing.

Overall, if you enjoy reading real life accounts of the Holocaust, you won't be disappointed if you put this book on your "to read list."

[Emmkay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, raised Catholic in the Netherlands, discovered as an adult that his heritage was in fact Jewish, and that most of his family had been murdered in the Holocaust. He writes here of his aunt, who seized every opportunity possible to survive, even as those opportunities became increasingly circumscribed as she was imprisoned, first in Dutch camps and then in Auschwitz. She was clearly a remarkable woman and her story is compelling. The story of the Netherlands' post-war history re-write is important too - magically, everyone was purportedly in the Resistance after the fact, yet many Dutch didn't want the Jews to return or to claim their lost property. My only misgiving was that the author writes his aunt's story in the first person, and it is hard to tell how much he is inferring. But the book was very worthwhile.

[Gayl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so lucky that I received this book in the Goodreads giveaway. It is very well written and is a remarkable document of life during the Holocaust. If the statistics are true, the Dutch lost the 72 percent of their Jewish population during the occupation. An astounding figure in comparison to the Germany's 24 percent and even Belgium's 44 percent, according to the author. I was also shocked at how the Dutch treated the returning who had survived the madness. This is a thorough account of a young woman's survival against all odds. Upsetting, yes, but never boring or slow.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible book. It is also one of the few books on the Holocaust where the reader actually gets inside the person's mind. Actually, the author didn't experience the Holocaust ... he didn't know about it till he was an adult. He just transcribed his aunt's words and created this thought-provoking book.

It would be so easy to give out the spoilers ... but I can honestly say this would make a great book club selection because there's so much in this book to discuss.

Definitely worth the time to read this one.

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

На экскурсии в Аушвице г-н Гласер среди вещей, отобранных у заключённых, видит чемодан, на котором написана его (очень редкая!) фамилия.
Паул - нидерландец и католик. Мысль о том, что у него есть еврейские корни, кажется абсурдной, но он начинает расследование. Так на сцене появляется тетушка Роза, которая вела дневники во время скитаний по концлагерям.
Я по уши влюбилась в тётушку Розу! Она оставалась женщиной в те моменты, когда трудно оставаться хотя бы человеком.
Очень рекомендую книгу, потому что она (как ни странно, с учётом темы) - настоящий манифест оптимизма.

[Sabrina Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Of course the subject matter is tough and gut wrenching but this book was well-written and obviously very well-planned. I thought Paul Glaser really kept Rosie's spirit alive, not only in the content of this book, but in the way he wrote the book. Her fun-loving and bright personality shined in her story and I think Paul Glaser really made his Aunt Rosie proud with this book.