Erik's Reluctant Journey

In the year 1937, Erik Hansen finds himself somewhat unwillingly joining a group of around fifty Danish boys on an educational excursion to Germany. As the group wanders through the streets of Lubeck and Hamburg, Erik and his companions witness firsthand the persecution of Jews. They also encounter Germans fervently inspired by Adolf Hitler's assertive leadership and soaring proclamations about Germany's destined resurgence to its past grandeur.

Confronting Ideals and Choices

Erik gradually realizes that many Germans, enthralled by this deceptive ideology, willingly turn a blind eye to the plight of the oppressed. The atmospheric intensity in Nazi Germany compels its citizens, and eventually even those beyond its borders, to choose a stance. Some plunge headfirst into this vast, unthinking movement, while others hesitate or pretend oblivion. There are those who seek to exploit the chaos for personal gain, and yet others who bravely attempt to resist, often finding their efforts tragically futile. Although merely a visitor, Erik faces a pivotal decision about where his allegiance will lie amid these turbulent times.

Adolf Hitler is often hailed as one of history's most compelling speakers, capable of rousing entire audiences into a fervor of nationalism. His powerful rhetoric intertwined with the hearts and minds of his listeners, anchoring them to his harrowing socio-political ambitions. In the novel Chase Me, Catch Nobody, Haugaard delves into how language can both mask and reveal the truth. Observing Germany in 1937, Erik reflects on whether the nation has become "a stage now...with all the audience rejoicing that for the first time they are being allowed behind the footlights." The characters, akin to actors in a grand play, discover that both spoken and written words wield the ability to craft the very fabric of human reality.

Erik and his classmates embark as tourists in an unfamiliar land. They learn German in school, each mastering it to varying degrees. This language barrier becomes a source of both amusement and anxiety. Erik humorously twists the customary "Heil Hitler" greeting into nonsensical Danish like "Heil your mustache," while the language gap also starkly highlights their precariousness. A phrasebook, mistranslating the German "Schuhe" (shoes) as "boots," provides a humorous yet ominous moment. "Such a book is almost like a schoolbook," Nikolai remarks, "and when a schoolbook mistakes a shoe for a boot then the end of the world is near." The substitution of "boots," with its martial overtones, subtly manipulates, showing how language nuances can mislead those who, like Erik and his friends, place trust in schoolbooks, phrasebooks, newspapers, and other "official" printed materials.

The symbolic resonance of language is further explored through Haugaard's careful selection of character names. Nobody's true name is Isolde, chosen by her mother in homage to the heroine of Richard Wagner's opera "Tristan und Isolde." This choice underscores the child's Germanic roots, despite her mother being married to a Jew, reflecting Wagner's anti-Semitic legacy. In contrast, Nikolai's Communist parents make a pointed statement by giving him the middle names Karl and Leon, honoring Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky. At the narrative's outset, Erik laments the ordinariness of his name—he is one of four Eriks in his class, and Hansen is Denmark's most common surname. Yet, as the story unfolds, Erik's remarkable courage and kindness highlight Haugaard's message: history is shaped by the deeds of seemingly ordinary individuals.

Chase Me, Catch Nobody stands resolute as a fierce critique of Nazism and the monstrous legacy it left behind. With unwavering clarity, Haugaard casts away any semblance of pity for the Nazi regime and those who, whether through active participation or passive acceptance, aligned with...