Book Summary

Drawing upon a long-suppressed episode in American history, when thousands of German immigrants were rounded up and interned following the attack on Pearl Harbor, In Our Midst tells the story of one family's fight to cling to the ideals of freedom and opportunity that brought them to America.

Nina and Otto Aust, along with their teenage sons, feel the foundation of their American lives crumbling when, in the middle of the annual St. Nikolas Day celebration in the Aust Family Restaurant, their most loyal customers, one after another, turn their faces away and leave without a word. The next morning, two FBI agents seize Nina by order of the president, and the restaurant is ransacked in a search for evidence of German collusion.

Ripped from their sons and from each other, Nina and Otto are forced to weigh increasingly bitter choices to stay together and stay alive. Recalling a forgotten chapter in history, In Our Midst illuminates a nation gripped by suspicion, fear, and hatred strong enough to threaten all bonds of love—for friends, family, community, and country.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

Mr. Griffin says, "When people are afraid, they'll hand over their rights as willingly as they'd hand over pennies for bread. But not until they've handed over other people's rights first." What was your reaction to that passage? Can you think of other times in our history that the "systemic repression" Mr. Griffin cites occurred or of systemic oppression occurring now?
How would you describe Nina and Otto's relationship as a couple and their relationship with each of their sons at the beginning of the story? How do those relationships change through the course of the story?
Otto consciously rejects initiating the process to attain US citizenship. If you're a US citizen, how did that make you feel? If you're an immigrant who has attained...

Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

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BookBrowsers Ask Nancy Jensen, author of In Our Midst
@kim.kovacs A few people have questioned me on an historical point, but the challenges tend to come from what they've heard rather than from what they've studied or experienced. I don't have all the sources for either of my novels instantly at my fingertips all the time, but I do have the sources...
-Nancy_J

Reminder messages re book discussion
Hi folks - As most of you know, we moved our book club discussions to a new platform at the end of last year. Well, apparently one of our internal programs didn't transfer properly - the one that keeps track of whether people who've received a book have participated in the discussion. This mornin...
-kim.kovacs

Overall, what did you think of In Our Midst? (no spoilers, please!)
In our Midst is interesting historical fiction. I rated it 3/5. Somehow the book managed to illicit a very mild emotional response. The bar is really high for Holocaust/ WWII fiction as there are so many novels on this topic. I think there were too many characters?
-Margot_Polley

Otto consciously rejects initiating the process to attain US citizenship. If you're a US citizen, how did that make you feel? If you're an immigrant who has attained citizenship or is in the process of obtaining it, how did you feel about his decision?
I think Otto's decision was not so much a rejection of America but rather fear that it would be disloyal to his homeland that was robbed from him.
-Margot_Polley

Music, singing, and the power of lyrics to connect to or express deep emotion recur throughout the story. Which of these moments made the strongest impression on you? Are there songs or poems that deeply affect you?
I agree with NanK about the role and importance pf music in people's lives because it can bring back happy memories and provide strength in time of turmoil like i times of war but also in times of change like fighting for civil rights. Yes, music brought unity and calmness to me also during my li...
-Carrie_Marlowe

In Our Midst also deals with the idea of "the kindness of strangers." Can you think of specific examples, small and large, of that motif in your own life? Should strangers be regarded as enemies or new friends?
Personally, I've experienced the kindness from friends and strangers quite often, even when my own family wasn't so kind. I strongly believe that everyone should be given an opportunity to show you their kindness. We should only label them as enemies when they show us that they don't have our bes...
-Marijana_Bankovic

What kind of future do you envision for each member of the Aust family? Do you have an opinion about how each of their lives might play out?
I think that Nina and Gerhart remains in Newman with their friends. Hopefully, with the savings Nina stashed, they were able to afford a comfortable housing for the two of them. With the conclusion of the war, I would hope that Otto and Kurt were able to return to America to Nina and Gerhart and ...
-Marijana_Bankovic

What audience would you recommend In Our Midst to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
I would recommend this book to young adults and adults. Another book that is similar in theme is The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner.
-Cindy_J

What are your reading this week? (12-12-2024)
I've been getting through Dante's Divine Comedy since beginning of October! Finally passed the mid-way. It's a difficult read but I gotta say I've been enjoying it. I'm also finishing up "In our Midst" by Nancy Jensen, and have just started "The greatest lie of all" by Jillian Cantor. Both books ...
-Marijana_Bankovic

Once incarcerated, Otto wants to keep busy and do as he’s ordered while Kurt wants to fight the system. Do you feel age plays a role or are their actions more related to their personalities? What would you have done in their place?
I think age was definitely a factor. Otto could see that this was a system a prisoner could not fight successfully and trying to do so would only make things worse. Kurt, on the other hand, with the optimism of youth, felt that resistance would somehow be successful and help their cause. In this ...
-Mary_H

What do you think motivated Mr. Beale and Mr. Griffin to help the Austs?
I think they were both good people and acted when they saw injustice. It reminds me of the Edmund Burke quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Unfortunately, Beale and Griffin were very much in the minority.
-Mary_H

Oath of secrecy
Evidently, once rescued the nurses were taken to Australia where they were permed, coiffed, and fed. McArthur returned for a limited photo op giving them medals and an increase in rank. The women were emaciated and in poor health, and while recuperating had to sign silence oaths. Meanwhile, the m...
-Maryanne_Boundy

Mr. Griffin says, “When people are afraid, they’ll hand over their rights as willingly as they’d hand over pennies for bread. But not until they’ve handed over other people’s rights first.” What was your reaction to that passage?
I agree that there were times in our history, not only the Underground Railroad, including support for women's rights, labor, and civil rights movements in the past, and LGBTQ and immigrants in the present.
-Carrie_Marlowe

Were there some characters about whom you felt strongly? Ones whom you sometimes liked, sometimes disliked? Why might a fiction writer want to avoid creating characters who are either "saints" or "sinners"?
I think authors avoid creating characters who are either just "saints" or "sinners" because the character would be one dimensional and lack depth.
-Cindy_J

How did you feel as you read about conditions in the internment camps? Prior to reading this book, were you aware of the internment of German- and Italian-Americans during WWII?
While I was aware that Germans and Italians were interned during WW II I had not read such a specific and disturbing account of conditions in the camps nor of the dehumanizing behavior of the FBI in putting them there. It's a sad commentary on the human condition. I think Joyce Montague's comment...
-Laura_Poe

Would you have made the same choice Nina did, joining your family in an internment camp? If you had been the one arrested and placed in an internment camp, would you have urged your spouse to join you?
If I were Nina I would have made the same decision she did. The Aust family was very close and Nina wanted desperately to be with them no matter the hardships. If it was me and my spouse asked me too join him, my response would depend on the circumstances. If we had no children, I believe I would...
-Mary_H

How would you describe Nina and Otto's relationship as a couple and their relationship with each of their sons at the beginning of the story? How do those relationships change through the course of the story?
Otto and Nina had a caring, loving relationship. They put their family first, and as parents often do, they made decisions that were the best for their children, but not the best for them. I fully understood why they needed to be apart from each other to help their sons. I don't think Kurt would ...
-Dee_Driscole

About the In Our Midst by Nancy Jensen Discussion category
A post was merged into an existing topic: /t/overall-what-did-you-think-of-in-our-midst-no-spoilers-please/299/16 Overall, what did you think of In Our Midst? (no spoilers, please!)
-nick

One of the ideas central to In Our Midst is family love and loyalty. In what ways do members of the Aust family make sacrifices for one another?
Nina's sacrifice to join the family so that they could be reunited was notable. For me, the greatest sacrifice was when the family split at the end so that each parent would be with one child until they were on good footing. That was an incredible decision. Otto and Nina did not know if they woul...
-Patricia_Williams

Nina recalls an exchange with an African-American family outside the restaurant that she comes to realize was misinterpreted and, therefore, accepted by her patrons. What do these experiences communicate about American values during the early 1940s?
This was during the time of segregation. African Americans could only eat and stay in specified places. A "Green Book" helped them identify places, and this has been noted for African American performers. It was a way of denying people of color access to full participation in our society and in m...
-Patricia_Williams

Is there a quote or a scene in the novel that stood out? Why do you think it resonated with you?
"You say 'the other side' as if you believe there are only two," Otto said. "So much trouble comes from men who see only two faces—the self and the enemy, right and wrong. It is the way of power." This resonated with me because life if full of gray areas. It is easy to be mean-spirited when peopl...
-Patricia_Williams

Which of the characters in In Our Midst do you consider the most American, according to your definition of fundamental American values?
I like Joyce's list, and was particularly impressed by Mr. Griffin. I also agree with Dee that several minor characters – the sisters who kept Nina and Mr. Lew, for example – treated the Germans with empathy, sympathy, and dignity as a matter of course.
-Laura_Poe

The young men in the story – Hugh, Gerhard and Kurt – are pressured to enlist. What did you think of their decisions? Do you think their families’ situations would have changed had they made different choices?
As others if Hugh, Gerhard and Kurt had enlisted their service would have been filled with coping with and fighting prejudice during their service to their country. Also, it would not ave helped the status of their families plus their families would have worried about the men and their status whi...
-Carrie_Marlowe

Johan asks Otto, “What country at war cares for principles?” Do you believe war justifies compromising a country’s principles? In what ways do you think the USA’s wartime actions would be different if war broke out today, and in what ways the same?
To me there is no justification for war; the trillions of dollars currently spent (obvious and hidden costs) could be easily spent on true peace making and conflict resolution instead; thus––no more deaths (on any side), no more POWs, no more maimed or traumatized returning soldiers, no more sold...
-Darlene_Goetzman

The boys who beat Hugh are newly enlisted "good" Americans, and the men who torture Gerhard are Nazis. How are their actions and underlying motivations the same and how are they different?
It is sad but true then and now certain groups of people face prejudice not just in words but also not allowed to join in a group of mutual interest and yes, sometimes they face violence, Even when I was growing up Blacks felt socially isolated and even I was working on a class project with a Bla...
-Carrie_Marlowe

What are you reading this week? (11/14/2024)
I finished up In Our Midst by Nancy Jensen for the BookBrowse book club. It's about a German family in the United States as WWII breaks out. Great historical fiction! I started The Love Elixir...
-kim.kovacs

What are you reading this week? (11/07/2024)
...nished Alan Hollinghurst's Our Evenings. Really exceptional book - which makes it hard to move on. Fortunately my next book is completely different - In Our Midst by Nancy Jensen. It's historical fiction, about a German family in the US during WWII. I'm only a few pages in but so far, so good. I'm still listening to Book 3 of...
-kim.kovacs

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Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Good people suffer terrible injustices when war reasserts tribal loyalties....A sad, and sadly still relevant, history lesson in fictional form.

Publishers Weekly

Touching...Jensen admirably pulls off the balancing act between an emotionally gripping narrative and adherence to historical facts...Jensen's satisfying fictional account of a lesser-known chapter of U.S. history resonates chillingly with today's headlines.

Author Blurb

Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits

A thoroughly researched work of truth-telling, In Our Midst shines the light of 'liberty and justice' on our history and reveals another horror that must be acknowledged. Jensen knows how to transport the reader into the domestic side of WWII; through taste and touch, sight and sound, we are there. From joy and delight to despair and horror, every character struggles to create and sustain their unique authenticity. To survive, each character must learn to blend aspirations with realities.