This is an objective yet dramatic historical account of the journey of one dynasty - the author's Sephardic Jewish paternal family - through 500 years of European turmoil. It tells of how politics and turbulent times shaped a single family's passage from the Inquisition to the Holocaust and beyond and graphically illustrates the dark reality of history coming 'full circle'. It's a human story set within a historical context, a fascinating account of achievement, emigration, persecution, horror and ultimately, survival. The narrative weaves the political, commercial, social and personal experiences of the generations together with the often brutal events of their time; the Inquisition, the 30 years war, the Great War, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era, Kristallnacht, Aryanization, Auschwitz and beyond. The account brings us through the aftermath of the Second World War, Russian occupation of Eastern Germany and the creation of the GDR, to the USA and to London, England and the modern day. It is from here that the author, inspired by the challenges and achievements of her father and grandfather, returns to Leipzig to seek out her roots and resurrect the memory of a truly exceptional dynasty.
