Paul Glaser
books
Dancing with the Enemy: My Family's Holocaust Secret
Sold to Oneworld Publications, publication May 2015/UK and Commonwealth. Verbum/Holland, Nan Talese Books, world English rights – publication September 2013, Rocco Editora/Brazil, Triton/Czech rights, Aufabau/Germany, Bompiani/Italy, Citic,China and AST/Russia, Editions Jacob-Duvernet/France. US paperback rights sold to Skyhorse Publishing for publication in 2015.
In the Netherlands, the true story of Rosie Glaser's extraordinary life recorded in DANCING IN AUSCHWITZ has drawn a great deal of press attention. A Dutch film producer is currently working on the story, a stage play will be performed later this year, two documentary films have already been broadcast on television and the Dutch edition is now in its third printing. The book is 93,500 words long, contains 88 of Rosie's original photographs (a selection is included in attachment) and was translated from Dutch into English by an experienced literary translator.
Unlike the diary of Anne Frank, which tells the story of a young Dutch woman who died in a concentration camp, this story is about survival. Also a young Dutch woman, Rosie was a successful dance teacher until she was betrayed by her husband, also dance teacher. Her strength of character helped her survive no fewer than 7 concentration camps. She even taught dance to Nazi officers in Auschwitz. After the war she resurfaced unbroken and resumed her life with her usual verve.
Rosie was an emancipated woman who defied convention with flair. She was very successful as a dance teacher, and danced in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Berlin and Brussels. She lost the great love of her life in a flying accident, sought consolation in the arms of another and married the wrong man. Then the Nazis seized power in the Netherlands. For Rosie, 25 years old and Jewish, this marked the beginning of an extremely dangerous adventure. The danger became even more acute when her husband joined the Nazi Party. She was forced to face painful dilemmas, but she followed her heart and soul and made her own choices. In 1940 she was running 4 dance schools and demonstrating the latest dances in the cinema news. Betrayed by her husband, she had to close her schools, but she could not stop dancing and started an illegal dance school in the attic of her house. After a second betrayal, Rosie was taken prisoner by the SS and launched her into the maelstrom of the concentration camps. In Auschwitz she taught dance and etiquette to SS officers, convinced it was the best way to survive. Rosie lived by her heart and fought with her brains. Her life is one of persistent determination, love and betrayal, but her enemies were unable to destroy her.
The author is Rosie's nephew, and after years of exploration and discovery he has managed to put together her hitherto hidden yet fascinating story. He is the oldest child of the postwar generation in his family. His father, Rosie's brother, advised him to keep the story a secret. But a dramatic event led him to unveil the secret and share Aunt Rosie's story in the form of a book. In the book the author intertwines his own quest with the story of Rosie's extraordinary life.
