English & Literature
Who is Julius Spier from An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941-1943 and what is their importance? "An_Interrupted_Life:_The_Diaries_of_Etty_Hillesum
![](https://d22o6al7s0pvzr.cloudfront.net/images/bookrags/qa/avatars/School/Stack_of_Books.png)
Julius Spier (alternately known as "S" and "Jul") was a chirologist and psychoanalyst who treated Etty Hillesum. Spier was a man who had great appeal to women. Etty considered him extremely attractive even though he was noticeably overweight and wore dentures. As part of his therapeutic practice, Spier would "wrestle" with his clients on the floor as a means of releasing the client' s pent-up aggression and unspent nervous energy. When he met Etty Hillesum, Julius Spier was engaged to Herta Levi who lived in London and whom Etty had never met. Etty Hillesum and Julius Spier were lovers for a time and at one point Etty made the decision to go with Spier anywhere he might happen to go as a sort of pretend wife. The reality of the war prevented Etty from carrying out her plan. Eventually, she decided against pursuing a deeper relationship with Spier, preferring instead to volunteer to work for the Jewish Council at Westerbork. Spier died in 1942 of natural causes. He and Hertha Levi were never married.