By Marietta Pritchard
My book, Among Strangers, is a personal history covering several generations of my family beginning with their origins in Central Europe, and focusing especially on my grandfather, Ernst Fürth.
Ernst was a wealthy industrialist who left Austria after the Nazi takeover, mistakenly thinking he could find safety in France. But he was caught in the Nazi net and eventually imprisoned at Drancy, a camp near Paris. During his time of exile, he wrote to his daughters in the U.S. -- my mother and aunt -- as often as he could.
When my mother made me a gift of two of his letters, I had no idea what kind of a journey I was about to embark on. The gift opened the door to several years of work, during which my mother and I explored the contents of about 200 pieces of correspondence — some of which had never reached their destination. They describe an ever-narrowing existence, beginning in confident hope and ending in sorrow and desperation.
Ernst Fürth’s story is central to Among Strangers, but intertwined with it are other narratives. A grandmother’s ring and the vexed tale of a building in Vienna introduce the subject of inheritance. Fundamental questions of identity are raised as my immigrant parents make the transition from a high bourgeois life in Budapest to a newly “Americanized” one; and I discover my Jewish roots after a Catholic upbringing.
The book tells of inheritance and loss, of war and peace, of exile and rootedness, of the grief of separation and the resilience of the human spirit.
Hello Marietta,
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to find this blog. Four years ago I moved with from Israel with my Austrian husband to the street Schmidgasse. With the dome cameras and special parking place outside the building, I guessed from the start that there was something special about the place. The Americans still occupied the building at the time, but the moment I walked over to the entrance, I noticed the commemorative stones by the entrance, and new it was no coincidence that I was drawn to this building which I imagined held great treasures inside. Perhaps it is the Jewish sense of unity through our violent history (both of my grandfather's brothers had studied medicine in Vienna, one left for Israel before 1938, the other fled in in 1938 as Jews were expelled from university), that I immediately went to investigate and learn what I can about the building and about its owners. I was so thrilled to discover that this amazing family had survivors to tell the family story. I recently noticed the building was being renovated and was unable to discover its fate. I hope it is not too intrusive to ask if you know what is planned for the building. I do hope that whatever its future hold, there will be some reference to its origins and important place in history. I look forward to buying your book through Amazon and learn more about the history of your family. To remember and cherish and never forget.
Thank you,
Alma (Shliom) Morianz
I am pleased to have found this blog site and encourage you to post on it. I have ordered your book through Amazon and look forward to reading it.
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