Hidden Inheritance: Family Secrets, Memory, and Faith

by Heidi B. Neumark

A shocking discovery of hidden family secrets leads to profound revelations of faith.

Heidi Neumark’s life changed when a few computer keystrokes exposed a generation of family secrets. Late one night while her family slept, Neumark discovered her hidden Jewish heritage—and uncovered hundreds of questions: Did her grandfather really die in a concentration camp? How did she never know her grandmother was a death-camp survivor? Why had the family history and faith been rejected and hidden?

Heidi’s search for the truth quickly became more than a personal journey; it also became spiritual. It caused profound ponderings on her thirty-year vocation as a Lutheran pastor. It was a shocking revelation that her Jewish roots and successive family loss and trauma now suddenly and inherently connected her to the multi-ethnic, marginalized community she had been ministering to for three decades.

Hidden Inheritance takes the reader on a journey that seamlessly weaves personal narrative, social history, and biblical reflection to challenge readers to explore their own identity, vocation, and theology. Neumark boldly calls readers to explore the harsh places of the past, uncover the possible buried secrets, ask new questions, forge new understanding, and discover new hope for transformation that is only possible when what has been hidden is finally brought to light.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Holocaust, Religion, Autobiography, World War II, War

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Heidi B. Neumark is an author, speaker, and Lutheran pastor in New York City. She is the author of the highly-acclaimed book, Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx, which won the 2004 Wilbur Award given by the Religion Communicators Council. She has chapters and sermons in numerous other books and writes regularly for The Christian Century and other journals. Pastor Neumark also serves as the executive director of a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth. She holds an honorary doctorate of divinity from Muhlenberg College.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not to take anything away from the author and her family heritage but I as not enthralled but this book or learning the history of the author's past. This actually saddens me some. The biggest reason I wanted to check this book out is because I have always been fascinated by reading stories of the people who survived one of the worst events in history. Yet, I could not grasp any olive branch of a connection towards the author or her family history.

Maybe this had to do with the fact that the author did no know much about her family and so she talked like she them at a distance. So I felt disconnected. Additionally, it seemed that the author was feeling guilty that she was Lutheran and found many moments to insert passages from the Bible. So after a while, the book came off a little preachy. I got about half way into the book and could not finish the book.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed this book or should I say as an educational read. A Lutheran pastor finds out her grandfather was Jewish, something her own father never mentioned to anyone in the family, even his wife. As she delves into the past using Ancestry, her family genealogy is much more than she ever imagined. She had the means to travel to Germany and other countries and talk to relatives she never knew. Also she was able to get genealogy help in her research that might be out of reach for others. She learned what happened to her grandparents and other relatives living in Germany as Jews during World War ll. Unhappiness, cruelty, horrible acts, etc.

[Patrick Hansel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a moving story; filled with sorrow, anger, hope and above all, love.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pastor Neumark, the author of this remarkable book, is a Lutheran Pastor with grown children, when she discovers her father was Jewish and that her grandfather, as well as many other family members died in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Upon this discovery she begins her dive into the research of her family's history.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

An advance digital copy of “Hidden Inheritance" by Heidi B. Neumark was sent to me for free exchange for an honest review.

In summary, it was a let down. That is a hard thing to say about a book about the Shoah (and I'm Jewish!). The only parts I did enjoy were when she spoke of her father and his family back in Germany, since I love history. I could do without all the Jesus preaching that was mixed in. I know the author is a Lutheran Reverend but had I known she was just going to use her family history to preach more about JC then I would have passed on this book. It's not that I don't like Christian books (I love Tessa Afshar's novels) but this was just bad.

The author comes across like a bratty teenager at times with her "how could they not tell me attitude". Her father did not owe her any explanations about this past. If he left Judaism out of guilt, survival, or true faith it is none of her business. Her parents raised her Christian and that is the inheritance they wanted her to have. Lets not forget that her mother and her family are all Christian so in traditional Judaism the author would also be considered Christian and not Jewish.

The author seems to feel that because she was not told her fathers family was Jewish that she lost out on something, which I don't think she did especially since it did not shake her Christian faith. Maybe it is because I am Jewish and the implications of that affect my life differently but I would not question if my parents kept any information from me. I say this with the fact that I've discovered some big details as an adult, just by chance, and it's none of my business. I would have been less judgmental of this book had the author felt a longing she could not explain or did not feel that she fit into her Christian identity. Then perhaps finding her Jewish roots she would feel like she was finally at home. But she does not, so I don't see why this is a book.

I do believe that we should collect and document as many testimonies from Shoah as possible. It should be in respect for those who suffered and as a caution for the future generations; this happened and we should never let it happen again. History, especially such a horrible one, should not be exploited and this is what I think the author is doing. It's a ridiculous show and tell, "hey - look I have Jewish grandparent but I'm Christian", yeah, well lady, a lot of us do.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When I was a child, people would always say to me that I had my father’s eyes. I will have to use them to look upon those things he did not want me to see.” p. 15

I know that the universe is not looking after me. I do not believe that I can influence “the fates” and that what happens is random. However, it is so weird when books that I pick up have connections either to one another or to each other. I am making the synchronicity and I enjoy finding those associations. I guess it is part of why I read.

That said, who could guess that I could read two memoirs about people whose families were Jewish and they converted to Christianity because of the Shoah (Holocaust)? I guess I knew such things happened, but why are these stories being told now? Why am I finding them?

Whatever the reason, both stories have been fascinating. My review of Between Gods is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Although there are similarities, in these stories, I am most struck by the differences. Neumark did not have any knowledge of her family’s religious past. She was totally caught off-guard. Neumark’s reactions to her heritage are much related to the silence in her past.

Neumark knows how to tell a good tale. She is a Lutheran pastor who has been preaching for several decades so her storytelling is well-organized and interesting. This is a personal account and she is willing to include her emotions and reactions to her new knowledge. It has to be hard to admit that loved ones kept such secrets and she lets her readers understand how she feels.

If you like new ways to see the devastation the Nazis perpetrated, if you are like me and like to gain new information about confusing subjects or you just like a good story, I recommend this book to you.

Other non-fiction books that I have read and reviewed here that are related to this book are:
Between Gods
Found Treasures
The Hare with Amber Eyes
The Lemon Tree
The Sunflower
We Are on Our Own
The Zookeeper’s Wife

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting story, but there was a bit too much Christian theology for a book about the Shoah, in my opinion. I understand the author's background as a pastor was a big influence, but when talking about the millions of Jews who were murdered (often with the indifference or even help of the church), do you really need to talk about Jesus so much?

Also, as someone who corrects grammar and punctuation for a living, I was a little appalled at the number of typos and grammatical errors I found.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Own book. This was such a different perspective than what I’m used to reading. I really enjoyed the spiritual perspective through out her journey of figuring out the family tree.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heidi Neumark delivers enough food for thought in this memoir to last the reader...a lifetime. A Lutheran minister for over 30 years, Neumark discovered only in 2009 that her family's heritage was very different from what she had thought it was throughout her entire life. Her father, who came to the U.S. from Germany in 1938, was in fact Jewish--something he never told her mother during their 30-year marriage nor ever revealed to his daughter, the author. As Neumark unpeels the numerous layers of history, genealogy and secrets, she allows the reader to accompany her on this difficult, painful and ultimately enlightening journey. Learning more about the Holocaust is never easy, but it's always instructive. As our country continues dealing with the reality that humans are capable of hating one another for the stupidest of reasons, the truths Neumark shares in "Hidden Inheritance" are still worth considering--no matter how much it hurts to read them.

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating story of a Lutheran pastor who discovers her father was Jewish, in Germany, in the 1930s. Heidi Neumark then sets off to discover a history her family never revealed. For example, her father said his father, Moritz, died of a heart attack, which he probably did, but omitted that Moritz was in Theresienstadt.

Neumark struggles with what being Jewish means for her Christian/Lutheran faith. This was the part with which I had the hardest time connecting. Not being in this situation, I think I would be proud, as she is, to have rabbis in my family tree, but I don't think I would question my Lutheran faith. I appreciate that Neumark talks about Martin Luther's anti-Semitic writings that were used centuries later by the Nazis.

I would like to visit Neumark's church next time I'm in New York City. I love the work they're doing with LGBTQ+ youths.

[Carol Brusegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. The author is a Lutheran pastor in New York City (South Bronx and now Manhattan) who discovered only in the past 12 years or so that her father's family was Jewish. The book traces her research and travels to learn more. In the process she learned of the family secrets kept from her mother, siblings and herself which included a grandfather dying in a concentration camp and a grandmother who survived that camp. Her journey of discovering the past and making connections with her own life and ministry is so engaging! I highly recommend it.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting thing to think about. Finding out everything you thought you knew about your family was not the wholw story.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "real" story well written. Fascinating and thought provoking as a Lutheran pastor discovers her grandfather was Jewish and that her grandmother was a death camp survivor. A good read!

[Siiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating memoir! Loved following Heidi's journey to connect with her family.

[Wendy]

How a few clicks of a computer can change your perspective of who we thought we were. This was a quick and engaging read.

[Pam Fickenscher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful storytelling, and very thought-provoking about identity, baptism and inheritance.

[Terri Wangard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through a chance hit on Wikipedia, Heidi Neumark learned her late father was Jewish. He left Germany in 1938, and his parents ended up in Theresienstadt concentration camp. His father perished there, his mother survived. Why had he kept silent about his family, his heritage?
Plenty of evidence is available in Wittmund and Lubeck, where her grandparents lived. Her grandfather was prominent in Lubeck. Her great-great-grandfather had been president of the Jewish community, a key figure in the building of a synagogue. The Neumark family had a long tradition of congregational leadership.

Heidi’s grandparents baptized their three children in the Lutheran church. By the late 1800s, Jews had become more fully integrated into German society, with some rights and opportunities. But it was a false promise of acceptance. Had the baptisms been more an act of assimilation than act of faith? A gradual distancing and secularization rather than conversion? Heidi believes that likely, since there is no evidence of prayers or church going later in life, as one might expect of a fervent convert.

Her family’s prominence no doubt led to the evidence left behind, as well as the German penchant for record keeping. How Heidi was able to piece together the picture of her grandparents’ lives is fascinating.

She was raised in the Lutheran church and is a pastor. She emphasizes the acceptance of the marginalized. This makes her empathy with the Jews more poignant when she realizes it is her own family’s story of being violently opposed. It also leads her to veer off on rabbit trails.
She writes a lot about the church’s violence through the centuries toward those who are different―Spanish wretches in the Inquisition, tribal chiefs threatened with death if they don’t convert―and not just the Jews during the Middle Ages and the Holocaust. Her point is the church has always been guilty in its treatment of others, leading them to reject any interest in the church.

She didn’t write much about religion being a relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Her concern seems to be that of a social religion. That was the same problem the German church had during the years of Hitler.

[Tonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A shocking discovery of hidden family secrets leads to profound revelations of faith.

Heidi Neumark’s life changed when a few computer keystrokes exposed a generation of family secrets. Late one night while her family slept, Neumark discovered her hidden Jewish heritage—and uncovered hundreds of questions: Did her grandfather really die in a concentration camp? How did she never know her grandmother was a death-camp survivor? Why had the family history and faith been rejected and hidden?

Heidi’s search for the truth quickly became more than a personal journey; it also became spiritual. It caused profound ponderings on her thirty-year vocation as a Lutheran pastor. It was a shocking revelation that her Jewish roots and successive family loss and trauma now suddenly and inherently connected her to the multi-ethnic, marginalized community she had been ministering to for three decades.

Hidden Inheritance takes the reader on a journey that seamlessly weaves personal narrative, social history, and biblical reflection to challenge readers to explore their own identity, vocation, and theology. Neumark boldly calls readers to explore the harsh places of the past, uncover the possible buried secrets, ask new questions, forge new understanding, and discover new hope for transformation that is only possible when what has been hidden is finally brought to light.

--My thoughts. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I like the premise but it fell flat and I couldn't finish it. My dad is a Lutheran minister. I could have done without that. I wanted to feel something between her past and present. It felt like the sentences were disjointed and not complete. I like these kinds of books, but this one did not do it for me.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hid­den Inher­i­tance: Fam­ily Secrets, Mem­ory, and Faith by Heidi B. Neu­mark is a non-fiction book in which the author traces her roots. Ms. Neu­mark is a pas­tor in the Bronx and wrote sev­eral books, as well as arti­cles previously.

Hid­den Inher­i­tance: Fam­ily Secrets, Mem­ory, and Faith by Heidi B. Neu­mark serves as a Lutheran pas­tor in The Bronx, while doing a geneal­ogy search she dis­cov­ered that her father was Jew­ish. As Ms. Neu­mark digs through her past, she dis­cov­ered that some of her rel­a­tives got bap­tized to escape the Nazi death machine.

I found the book to be poignant and hon­est. The author reveals that the reli­gion she loves, also sym­bol­izes her family’s loss of another faith. The sto­ry­telling is not in lin­ear fash­ion, which I didn’t mind at all.

I do think Ms. Neu­mark can, should and is qual­i­fied to explore the issues of reli­gion she brought up, but didn’t answer some of them. For exam­ple, she men­tions that she feels part of the Jew­ish com­mu­nity, even as a Lutheran pas­tor, but doesn’t expand on this very inter­est­ing point.

The author also inserts many pas­sages from the Bible, which I thought was over­done and with lit­tle con­text. While she may be famil­iar with the intri­ca­cies of the texts, I could have done with­out them, or with a bit more com­men­tary how the texts relate to her situation.

While the book is mar­keted as “Christian”, I think anyone would enjoy it. It is an well writ­ten, intel­li­gent book with a riv­et­ing story which I’m glad was told.

I received this book for free in exchange of an honest review

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In May I heard Heidi Neumark deliver a presentation entitled "Preaching Killed My Grandparents." Her talk motivated me to buy her book.

Neumark is a Lutheran pastor who learned in mid-life that she was Jewish and that her grandfather died in the Holocaust. This is the memoir of her journey to uncover her family's hidden past and to come to terms with it. The story and her reflections on it are profoundly moving.

One element she wrestles with is faith's complicity in the genocide. In her presentation and in this book she details the horrible Nazi propaganda that spewed from the pulpit of the church her father grew up in, a church she was later invited to preach at. She draws parallels to contemporary issues in which the church continues to abuse people--her congregation runs a shelter for homeless queer youth, many of whom have histories of religious abuse.

Our church book club will be discussing this memoir on Thursday, and I look forward to the conversation.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Lutheran pastor discovers her hidden Jewish roots and her late Father's passing as a Lutheran in Germany and his escape from Germany . This discovery is a shock to her in her spirituality, her dismay at the hidden famiky secrets and her horror as she travels to Germany to visit her family's heritage as Jews and what happened to their small community in Wittmund and later Berlin. She looks at the Biblical views of her own religion and questions the issues of Martin Luther 's Reformation and The Roman Catholic theology in the treatment of Jews and then brings up to date some of Christianity's treatment of people today. Interesting historical and theological coverage of yesterday's and today's issues and beliefs.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book wasn’t my favorite. It’s about a woman who is a Lutheran pastor who discovers her secret Jewish heritage. Not only is she Jewish, but her grandparents were in a concentration camp during the war. The format was kind of confusing to me. The memoir-like parts, I enjoyed, but then she would go on and on with historical facts for pages and I honestly skipped over some of those parts. I wish she would have stuck to one or the other. It’s an interesting story, but it took me awhile to read it because it was boring in parts.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Abingdon Press for letting me review this free book for an honest review.

Heidi Neumark’s life was turned upside down when she found out that she, as a Lutheran, was actually from a long line of Jews. The story had a lot of potential but between all of the bible passages and the disconnect on her writing it felt more stilted than it should have. I personally couldn't feel anything coming from Heidi passion wise when it came to her family. I felt more when I was reading about the places she saw and the job that she had, not so much the people that she was meeting.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reflection on an unexpected discovery of ancestry and understanding. Neumark, a Lutheran clergywoman considers and reconsiders her perspectives on family, faith, tradition, trauma and more. She recounts her personal experience through the lens of her professional education and experience as well as her deep and reflective faith.

Rev. Neumark's faith is deepened and her worldview enhanced through this deeply personal experience. Readers have the opportunity to share in this valuable experience.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heidi Neumark is a Lutheran pastor, but I doubt that she is a Christian. She completely ignores the work of the Holy Spirit, especially in her life and the lives of her ancestors. She seems to indicate that being a Christian is all about what you do, whereas for me its all about what Jesus Christ has done. On second thought, I guess she never claimed to be a Christian - just a Lutheran pastor.

The history of her family is interesting though.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. She is a good writer and a wise and honest person. But what I liked best was that the story was kind of quietly dramatic. Very bad things happened in her family history, obviously. But there were not a lot of big heroes or big villains. There were a lot of everyday good people, and some who rose above their human moment and faced great evil with quiet good; and people who went along with horrific violence by downplaying it or looking the other way. It is a real story.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

from an author that i love

this was a great book. i really appreciated the exploration of the past while the author was tracing the steps in the present as well as the ways that the author tied family and political history to much of what is going on both at trinity lutheran church of manhattan and in the united states and the world today. well done!!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very personal journey well worth a public read. A Lutheran pastor's interest in her family tree leads her to unexpected and spiritually challenging places. During the course of her genealogical journey, she learns of things that challenge her core perceptions of self-identity. It is at once a fascinating and thought-provoking read.

[Lynda Nordholm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect timing to read Heidi's journey into her unearthed Jewish heritage - following my recent trip to the former East Germany and Czech Republic where we visited Buchenwald, Jewish cemeteries, and Holocaust memorials. Heidi beautifully weaves her stunning personal experience with deep theological insights.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep sadness filled me over and over again as I read about the author's loss not only of relatives this at she never knew but also of history that her living family members were unable to speak of. We can never be reminded too much of the horror that the Jews suffered.