Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir

by Shulamit Reinharz

The authors of this striking memoir, Hiding in Holland, survivor Max Rothschild and his daughter Shulamit Reinharz, tell the story of a Jewish man who saved his life repeatedly during the Holocaust, eventually being hidden by Dutch Righteous Gentiles for three years. Hiding in Holland presents Max's roller-coaster ride of living and almost dying in Holland, exploring in depth what it meant to be an onderduiker. What was it like to hide in a brothel or with someone you didn’t like? What was it like to switch hiding locations repeatedly? How did outsiders help? How did hiders deal with Nazi raids? And how did Max retain his sanity?

Max answers these questions by offering a new definition of “resistance” understood in terms of the Jewish person’s experience. Shulamit introduces historical contexts that challenge the exaggerated stereotypes of the valorous Dutch. Together, this inner and outer perspective helps explain why the Netherlands had the worst record of Jewish annihilation of all Western European countries. Only now are Dutch government leaders acknowledging the truth.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

356 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2024

About the author

Shulamit Reinharz's areas of teaching include group dynamics, history of sociology, social psychology, the relation between Jews, gender and art. Since 1991, she has been deeply engaged in institution building, first as director of the Women's Studies Program at Brandeis, and then as founder of two research institutes housed in a renovated building that she designed.

Reinharz is deeply engaged in community development, in Jewish women's studies, and empowering students and scholars through various new programs including investigative journalism, a college women's health website, a flourishing art gallery, a book publication series, etc. All of these new activities are propelled and shaped by her sociological imagination.

Reviews

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I have loved reading about this part of history since I was twelve and learned I shared a birthday with Anne Frank. I was fascinated by the resilience of the Jewish people. I was fascinated by kindness and often the sacrifice of their own lives that a handful of non-Jewish people showed in the face of such atrocious adversity. John 15:13 says, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the case of the holocaust, often the person who laid down their life for the Jews were total strangers, yet they exhibited true love. When I read these stories and memoirs I find myself angry at those who saw what was happening to their neighbors and did nothing and then when the war had ended tried to pretend like they knew nothing or that it was all a lie. Those same feelings came back as I read where Max had returned to his hometown and this was the attitude of so many. So many still blamed the Jews.
This book starts of with the author finding boxes of old documents which her father tells her she can throw out. Instead she takes them home and organizes them. She cobles together an account of her father’s survival and resistance to the Nazi atrocities around him. It is obvious that he saw himself as more than just a survivor of the atrocities thrust upon the Jewish people. It was years later after discovering and organizing the materials that she finally had them translated. She used those findings along with massive amounts of her own research to write this book. One thing that became clear was the importance of keeping alive memories. Not all of us have gone through something so horrific. However, memories of our past and those of our parents and grandparents are important. Does that mean we should all write books about what our parents went through? No. However, the importance of documenting not only good times, but extreme hardship is what may make the difference in future generations not repeating mistakes and atrocities of the past.
I was shocked to learn that Jews who were not real strict followers of their Jewish religion often survived compared to those who stuck religiously to their Jewish beliefs.
When I read the percentage of murdered Jews from different countries, I was shocked to learn that 85% of the Dutch Jews were wiped out compared to other countries. It still boggles my mind that we as humans could let something like this happen. Yet for centuries we have allowed this to happen. One thing that stood out in this memoir is found in the following excerpt where the author explains why and how her parents survived the German occupation. She mentions what her father considered the most important lesson he learned. He said, “There are some good people in this world.” The author said, “Dad’s belief is not to be confused with Anne Frank’s naïve idea that there is ‘some good in everyone.’” As a teacher I have taught “The Diary of Anne Frank” for years. I don’t know how many times I have pointed out that quote. It wasn’t until I read this book that I truly see how naïve she truly was. This is not a put down to her. I believe we all want to believe that there is good in everyone. However, after reading this book I actually have to agree with the author’s father’s statement. If there was “some good in everyone” then those who stood by and let the Nazis do what they did, or turned their neighbors in for money, we would have to conclude there was more evil than good in them.
For me one of the things I really loved about this book is all the references. Obviously, the author did so much more research to add to her father’s accounts. For me it just added so much more for me to read to add to my own understanding. I as a non-Jew can never understand what they went through. However, I can increase my understanding of those times to try to pass that knowledge on to future generations. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the holocaust.

[Galina Vromen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hiding in Holland provides a comprehensive account of the issues and difficulties of living underground as a Jew in the Netherlands during World War 2 – and does so in an interesting way by using a combination of the diary and correspondence at that time of the hidden man, Max Rothschild, his thoughtful later memoir and by amplification and context provided by Shulamit Reinharz his daughter and the author of this book. Both are incisive and fluid writers, so that despite the difficult subject matter of the book, the account moves smoothly among the diary, letters and memoir of Max and the additions by Shulamit. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand how it came to be that 80% of the Jews of the Netherlands did not survive World War 2. Some of the book’s most poignant moments are in Max’s readjustment to “normal” life after the war, his sense of radical dislocation and a short visit he takes back to his native Germany. The account is highly informative without overwhelming the reader with facts and deeply touching without being maudlin.

[Laura Karns Zoller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different perspective on living through the Holocaust. The back and forth between Shulamit's historic perspective and her father's accounting of his experiences is an insightful partnership in telling the story. When in Amsterdam recently, we did a walking tour of the Jewish quarter and some of the history discussed by our guide is also part of this book.

[Michael Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book via a Goodreads giveaway. This book took me longer to finish as I reread multiple sections twice. This was a very unique book, I can’t believe I never saw this featured at any of my local bookstores. I highly recommend this book. The author did a great job. I am so thankful I was able to read this book.

[Esther Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

TOUCHING

A beautiful legacy that is preserved by this family on the stories that made them stronger in life. Highly recommend

[Sandy Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written from the diaries of her dad while he was in hiding from the Nazis in Holland. It was a different perspective on the suffering of the Jewish people.