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The Lost Cafe Schindler: One family, two wars and the search for truth
Kurt Schindler was an impossible man. His daughter Meriel spent her adult life trying to keep him at bay. Kurt had made extravagant claims about their family history. Were they really related to Franz Kafka and Oscar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame? Or Hitler's Jewish doctor - Dr Bloch? What really happened on Kristallnacht, the night that Nazis beat Kurt's father half to death and ransacked the family home?
When Kurt died in 2017, Meriel felt compelled to resolve her mixed feelings about him, and to solve the mysteries he had left behind.
Starting with photos and papers found in Kurt's isolated cottage, Meriel embarked on a journey of discovery taking her to Austria, Italy and the USA. She reconnected family members scattered by feuding and war. She pieced together an extraordinary story taking in two centuries, two world wars and a family business: the famous Cafe Schindler. Launched in 1922 as an antidote to the horrors of the First World War, this grand cafe became the whirling social centre of Innsbruck. And then the Nazis arrived.
Through the story of the Cafe Schindler and the threads that spool out from it, this moving book weaves together memoir, family history and an untold story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It explores the restorative power of writing, and offers readers a profound reflection on memory, truth, trauma and the importance of cake.
When Kurt died in 2017, Meriel felt compelled to resolve her mixed feelings about him, and to solve the mysteries he had left behind.
Starting with photos and papers found in Kurt's isolated cottage, Meriel embarked on a journey of discovery taking her to Austria, Italy and the USA. She reconnected family members scattered by feuding and war. She pieced together an extraordinary story taking in two centuries, two world wars and a family business: the famous Cafe Schindler. Launched in 1922 as an antidote to the horrors of the First World War, this grand cafe became the whirling social centre of Innsbruck. And then the Nazis arrived.
Through the story of the Cafe Schindler and the threads that spool out from it, this moving book weaves together memoir, family history and an untold story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It explores the restorative power of writing, and offers readers a profound reflection on memory, truth, trauma and the importance of cake.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
224 people are currently reading
5028 people want to read
About the author
Meriel Schindler
2 books23 followersMeriel Schindler is an employment lawyer, partner, and head of a team at the law firm Withers LLP, and is a trustee of the writing charity Arvon. She lives in London with her husband, Jeremy, and has three adult children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
May 2, 2024
I admire the thorough, detailed research and travel that Meriel Schindler did in order to understand and write about her family history. That strength is also a double-edged sword because it bogged down the storyline and plot.
A narrative nonfiction approach may keep readers more engaged.
A narrative nonfiction approach may keep readers more engaged.
January 9, 2022
Abandoned at 27%.
Damn, this is boring! There are plenty of history books about WWI out there already. The author didn't need to write another one. I'm sure her family history would have been a lot more interesting if she had left out all the tedious detailed descriptions of specific battles and their aftermath.
May 20, 2021
(3.5) I applaud Meriel Schindler, lawyer and amateur historian, for her dedication to uncovering her family's history, particularly the mystery regarding her father - "why he was the way he was." Her father's pathological need to litigate and his "untruths" and fantasies about his past left her with so many questions after his death.
But, what eventuated from this initial need to understand Kurt Schindler's troubled soul "led [her] into...a whole world of Schindlers, Dubskys and Kafkas, of nineteenth-century Bohemia and twentieth century Austria, of two world wars, a fallen empire, the poison of antisemitism and a Nazi dictator, and throughout it all a pervading family tradition devoted to good food, good drink, good music and good dancing." The celebrated Austrian grand Cafe Schindler had been the focus of pre-war Innsbruck before the Nazis arrived to lay claim to Austria, to its culture, to its Jews, and to its independence. Schindler meticulously researched the fate of the Cafe and of its owners, taking the reader through a personal and intimate portrait of family members and their lives in Austria, in France, and in America. Of particular interest to me were the fates of the families through the Holocaust, a period during which so many of them perished. Most interesting was the information I learned about the suffering of the Austrian Jews, a population with which I was less familiar.
The detail Schindler presented was both the strength and the flaw in this intense history. We came to know and connect with each member of the family she traced. However, particularly in the accounts of Austria's battles through WWI, the author seemed to lose sight of her original intention and presented dense chapters of the military engagements of Austria's war. More stringent editing was certainly warranted and would have moved the focus back to the family through these chapters. The author seemed to include everything she had discovered, rendering some of the reading tedious.
Although by the end of her study, Schindler was still left with many questions about her father's "versions" of his early years in Austria, she felt less angry with him, slower to judge him because of the traumas she uncovered.
But, what eventuated from this initial need to understand Kurt Schindler's troubled soul "led [her] into...a whole world of Schindlers, Dubskys and Kafkas, of nineteenth-century Bohemia and twentieth century Austria, of two world wars, a fallen empire, the poison of antisemitism and a Nazi dictator, and throughout it all a pervading family tradition devoted to good food, good drink, good music and good dancing." The celebrated Austrian grand Cafe Schindler had been the focus of pre-war Innsbruck before the Nazis arrived to lay claim to Austria, to its culture, to its Jews, and to its independence. Schindler meticulously researched the fate of the Cafe and of its owners, taking the reader through a personal and intimate portrait of family members and their lives in Austria, in France, and in America. Of particular interest to me were the fates of the families through the Holocaust, a period during which so many of them perished. Most interesting was the information I learned about the suffering of the Austrian Jews, a population with which I was less familiar.
The detail Schindler presented was both the strength and the flaw in this intense history. We came to know and connect with each member of the family she traced. However, particularly in the accounts of Austria's battles through WWI, the author seemed to lose sight of her original intention and presented dense chapters of the military engagements of Austria's war. More stringent editing was certainly warranted and would have moved the focus back to the family through these chapters. The author seemed to include everything she had discovered, rendering some of the reading tedious.
Although by the end of her study, Schindler was still left with many questions about her father's "versions" of his early years in Austria, she felt less angry with him, slower to judge him because of the traumas she uncovered.
May 6, 2021
The Lost Cafe Schindler is a vivid portrayal of a family’s brushes with history, from the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the importance of cake. The memoir centres on the famous Café Schindler, launched in 1922 as an antidote to the horrors of the First World War, becoming the whirling social centre of Innsbruck—until the Nazis arrived. Kurt Schindler was an impossible man. Meriel Schindler had spent her entire adult life trying to keep her father, Kurt, at bay. But when he died suddenly in 2017, Meriel felt compelled to resolve her mixed feelings about him, and to solve the mysteries he had left behind. There was to be no hiding from his extraordinary legacy: not only his fractured relationship with his two daughters, Meriel and Sophie, but also the truth behind what were always assumed to be Kurt’s tall tales of their family history.
The physical manifestation of these towering stories lay scattered around the isolated cottage where Kurt lived out his final years. What Meriel discovered in her father’s home were chaotic piles of Nazi-era documents, and a treasure trove of family photo albums reaching back to before the First World War. In The Lost Cafe Schindler, Meriel explores the truth about her notorious and extraordinary family: Oscar Schindler, Alma Schindler, the composer wife of Gustav Mahler and Walter Gropius, Hitler’s Jewish doctor – Dr Bloch, and Franz Kafka. Finally, and perhaps most poignantly, Meriel explores her father’s actual whereabouts on Kristallnacht; when he was said to have witnessed the Nazis beating his father half to death and ransacking the family home.
Meriel’s journey of discovery has taken her around the world to Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Washington. She reconnected family members scattered by feuding and war. She pieced together a unique story taking in two centuries, two world wars and a family business. However, all roads always lead back to the family café. A café in the grand Austrian tradition in the very heart of Innsbruck. This is a meticulously researched and profound personal journey for the author who experienced the restorative power of writing which enabled her to reflect on memory, truth and trauma. A captivating, deeply moving and thoroughly engrossing read from beginning to end, the story of Café Schindler and the threads that spool out from it weave together memoir, family history and the untold story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Highly recommended.
The physical manifestation of these towering stories lay scattered around the isolated cottage where Kurt lived out his final years. What Meriel discovered in her father’s home were chaotic piles of Nazi-era documents, and a treasure trove of family photo albums reaching back to before the First World War. In The Lost Cafe Schindler, Meriel explores the truth about her notorious and extraordinary family: Oscar Schindler, Alma Schindler, the composer wife of Gustav Mahler and Walter Gropius, Hitler’s Jewish doctor – Dr Bloch, and Franz Kafka. Finally, and perhaps most poignantly, Meriel explores her father’s actual whereabouts on Kristallnacht; when he was said to have witnessed the Nazis beating his father half to death and ransacking the family home.
Meriel’s journey of discovery has taken her around the world to Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Washington. She reconnected family members scattered by feuding and war. She pieced together a unique story taking in two centuries, two world wars and a family business. However, all roads always lead back to the family café. A café in the grand Austrian tradition in the very heart of Innsbruck. This is a meticulously researched and profound personal journey for the author who experienced the restorative power of writing which enabled her to reflect on memory, truth and trauma. A captivating, deeply moving and thoroughly engrossing read from beginning to end, the story of Café Schindler and the threads that spool out from it weave together memoir, family history and the untold story of the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Highly recommended.
August 29, 2021
Lawyer and author Meriel Schindler has a stunning family history! She scrutinized and sorted the papers in dozens of boxes in addition to thirteen photo albums her father Kurt kept and left upon his death in 2017. She also travels to discover more. What is so intriguing about this documentation and further research (interviews, newspapers) is what it represents, before WWI and during the Nazi era. This powerful book about her Jewish family is the result.
To say the author grew up in a confusing environment is an understatement. She details her experiences as a young girl, though most of the story is about her ancestors. This book includes personal photographs, illustrations and even recipes from the beloved Cafe Schindler which was originally owned by her Jewish family in Innsbruck. Amongst my favourite photographs are those of the author walking to her house and her great grandmother engrossed in a book on a bench. But there are many more. Posters are remarkable, too. And the coffee cups!
Jews, "dangerous parasites", suffered through unimaginable anguish in this era in Europe and the Schindlers were heavily impacted. They were forced to leave their dear cafe, distillery, factory and lives. Reading about Dr. Eduard Bloch and one of his patients in particular is absolutely riveting (what a family resemblance!). Hitler connections are detailed as are terrifying house searches, propaganda, a secret escape tunnel, Kristallnacht, family rows, Richenau labour camp and execution. There is even a timeline of Germany's occupation of Austria, hour by hour.
I hung onto every word...and was very moved. The commemorative plaque in the back is poignant and beautiful. In honour of this family I am making Das Schindler Sacher Torte tomorrow. I bet this version is delectable! Kudos to the author for taking on this massive project. As a reader I am so glad she did! Her children have a gem of a compilation.
Readers of this era, please read this book. I cannot possibly recommend it highly enough. It is very personal yet told in a matter of fact way, with no sugar coating.
My sincere thank you to W. W. Norton Company and NetGalley for the honour of reading this important and exceptional book.
To say the author grew up in a confusing environment is an understatement. She details her experiences as a young girl, though most of the story is about her ancestors. This book includes personal photographs, illustrations and even recipes from the beloved Cafe Schindler which was originally owned by her Jewish family in Innsbruck. Amongst my favourite photographs are those of the author walking to her house and her great grandmother engrossed in a book on a bench. But there are many more. Posters are remarkable, too. And the coffee cups!
Jews, "dangerous parasites", suffered through unimaginable anguish in this era in Europe and the Schindlers were heavily impacted. They were forced to leave their dear cafe, distillery, factory and lives. Reading about Dr. Eduard Bloch and one of his patients in particular is absolutely riveting (what a family resemblance!). Hitler connections are detailed as are terrifying house searches, propaganda, a secret escape tunnel, Kristallnacht, family rows, Richenau labour camp and execution. There is even a timeline of Germany's occupation of Austria, hour by hour.
I hung onto every word...and was very moved. The commemorative plaque in the back is poignant and beautiful. In honour of this family I am making Das Schindler Sacher Torte tomorrow. I bet this version is delectable! Kudos to the author for taking on this massive project. As a reader I am so glad she did! Her children have a gem of a compilation.
Readers of this era, please read this book. I cannot possibly recommend it highly enough. It is very personal yet told in a matter of fact way, with no sugar coating.
My sincere thank you to W. W. Norton Company and NetGalley for the honour of reading this important and exceptional book.
August 24, 2022
Meriel Schindler sets out to discover the true story of her family and the father she avoided for much of her adult life.
"If I was going to understand this maddening man, and to separate fact from fiction, reliable from unreliable memories, I would have to immerse myself in his past and unravel a larger, longer family history"
And that is certainly what Schindler attempts to do. This is a very detailed family history woven around the context of the events of the late 19th and 20th centuries in Austria and surrounding regions. The research, of both the family members and the historical circumstances, is very detailed and I wonder if that was both the books strength and its weakness. This is a big story, with an enormous cast of characters, and deciding how to tell it was possibly the first challenge. I don't believe there is a correct way, only the way the author decides as all methods/formats have their problems. Here the final product is almost chronological with the interjection of some current day research snippets. I absolutely admire the amount of research undertaken and as an historian I am somewhat envious of the the amount of material that survived within the family and the archives. There were parts of the telling I really enjoyed reading. For example the events of the Italian front in World War One (perhaps one of the most neglected histories of this war) and the author's own exploration of this geographical area and subsequent descriptions which bought this impossible front to life. But this is also probably audience dependent, that is, for me this was fascinating, for others perhaps not so much. I was also grateful for the inclusion of a family tree but do wish it had not been crammed onto one side of one page making it so small it was almost illegible.
There was a lot to enjoy about this very detailed family story, but it is a big read with perhaps an excess of detail and, given the fact that it is the story of the author's family, somewhat lacking in emotion. I wonder if less might have been more, despite how hard it is to resist telling all that we learn and know.
"If I was going to understand this maddening man, and to separate fact from fiction, reliable from unreliable memories, I would have to immerse myself in his past and unravel a larger, longer family history"
And that is certainly what Schindler attempts to do. This is a very detailed family history woven around the context of the events of the late 19th and 20th centuries in Austria and surrounding regions. The research, of both the family members and the historical circumstances, is very detailed and I wonder if that was both the books strength and its weakness. This is a big story, with an enormous cast of characters, and deciding how to tell it was possibly the first challenge. I don't believe there is a correct way, only the way the author decides as all methods/formats have their problems. Here the final product is almost chronological with the interjection of some current day research snippets. I absolutely admire the amount of research undertaken and as an historian I am somewhat envious of the the amount of material that survived within the family and the archives. There were parts of the telling I really enjoyed reading. For example the events of the Italian front in World War One (perhaps one of the most neglected histories of this war) and the author's own exploration of this geographical area and subsequent descriptions which bought this impossible front to life. But this is also probably audience dependent, that is, for me this was fascinating, for others perhaps not so much. I was also grateful for the inclusion of a family tree but do wish it had not been crammed onto one side of one page making it so small it was almost illegible.
There was a lot to enjoy about this very detailed family story, but it is a big read with perhaps an excess of detail and, given the fact that it is the story of the author's family, somewhat lacking in emotion. I wonder if less might have been more, despite how hard it is to resist telling all that we learn and know.
March 29, 2021
I was intensely grateful when somebody mentioned this book to me because it covers a lot of areas I'm interested in. I collect a series of books set around Innsbruck and during many of the periods that The Lost Café Schindler covers, and I also write books with a lot of cake and food references in them. The story of an Austrian café and the lives that had wrapped about it was all very much up my street - and indeed it was. There's something rather moving and unusual here, and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.
What also interested me here was the way in which this is written. Schindler hovers somewhere between family history and personal memoir, literary non-fiction and present day travel guide. It's an intriguing, intoxicating mix of form and style and sometimes it hits rather deeply. There is a lot here to read and reread in the hope that you read it wrong first time round and then, when you realise that you haven't, you read it again because you still can't quite believe it's true. Schindler's research is meticulous and rich, giving as much of herself to the story as she does with the information that she founds out, and you can almost feel her reactions in the archives or the reading rooms as she comes across something new. It's as much a journey into the present as it is into the past and that rather works for me.
My thanks to the publisher for access to the early copy via Netgalley.
What also interested me here was the way in which this is written. Schindler hovers somewhere between family history and personal memoir, literary non-fiction and present day travel guide. It's an intriguing, intoxicating mix of form and style and sometimes it hits rather deeply. There is a lot here to read and reread in the hope that you read it wrong first time round and then, when you realise that you haven't, you read it again because you still can't quite believe it's true. Schindler's research is meticulous and rich, giving as much of herself to the story as she does with the information that she founds out, and you can almost feel her reactions in the archives or the reading rooms as she comes across something new. It's as much a journey into the present as it is into the past and that rather works for me.
My thanks to the publisher for access to the early copy via Netgalley.
December 20, 2021
The main storyline of Schindler's family before, during and after World War II was interesting but it gets bogged down with way too many side stories and tangents. Every time a new person is introduced, she gives you their entire life story and often it is completely unnecessary. There seems to be a lot of these types of books being published by children and grandchildren going on a quest to uncover their family's history, however, I personally liked I Want You to Know We're Still Here by Esther Safran Foer, Plunder by Menachem Kaiser, and The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters by Julie Klam better than this one. The appended recipes were an added bonus though.
December 30, 2021
Really enjoyed the author’s deep dive into her family’s history. It seems like an amazing amount of research (both personal and broader) was done. Will appeal to those with an interest in early 1900s (espec. pre-WWII) central European history, café and business culture, and Jewish assimilation/refugee stories. Chapters involving the Café Schindler itself, and the unique inside vs outside perspective of the family within the Jewish sub-culture were my favorite. The book made me hungry for a sachertorte.
March 10, 2025
Нужно ли все личные истории предавать огласке?
Я оказалась одурачена названием и ожидала рассказа в духе - в этом кафе собирались представители культуры, тут рождались произведения искусства. Но автор лишь представила нам историю исследования семейного древа и потерю огромной империи Шиндлеров в результате нацистских репрессий. Конечно, рассказ также строится на историческом пласте событий, особенно концентрируясь на родном городе предков автора - Инсбург, Австрия.
Одним из вопросов исследования стали также некоторые психологические отклонения отца автора. И стремление найти ответы - что же из семейных историй правда?
Говоря об истории второй мировой войны и предшествующих событиях - да, это вполне достоверный рассказ, если вы ранее не интересовались темой. Из нового для меня - лишь история еврейского врача Блоха, который лечил мать Гитлера и поэтому был неприкасаем во время всех чисток и репрессий.
В остальном будьте готовы погрузиться в рассказ о том, кто кому приходился в семье Шиндлеров и как сложилась их судьба - концентрационные лагеря, продажа имущества за копейки во имя спасения и бегство из страны (забегая вперед - отличалась ли она от миллионов других судеб? - нет). Не забудем при этом перечислить все богатства, принадлежащие семье - фабрику, магазин, кафе, виллу.
Почему в название вынесено именно кафе, так и осталось загадкой. Судя по тому, как описывалось каждое имущество Шиндлеров и его судьба - можно было бы упомянуть в названии и фабрику, и магазин, ничего бы не изменилось.
Что еще описано? Как автор ездит по архивам, посещает Инсбург и окрестности, встречается с давно забытыми родственниками. Проведена коллосальная работа по поиску и систематизированию информации, но в книге это все предстает достаточно сухим текстом - то ли потому, что автор эмоционально далека от историй, то ли ввиду других факторов. Эмоций при прочтении - 0.
Все еще придерживаюсь мнения, что не все личные история и исследования надо превращать в книгу для широкой публики.
⭐⭐2/5
Я оказалась одурачена названием и ожидала рассказа в духе - в этом кафе собирались представители культуры, тут рождались произведения искусства. Но автор лишь представила нам историю исследования семейного древа и потерю огромной империи Шиндлеров в результате нацистских репрессий. Конечно, рассказ также строится на историческом пласте событий, особенно концентрируясь на родном городе предков автора - Инсбург, Австрия.
Одним из вопросов исследования стали также некоторые психологические отклонения отца автора. И стремление найти ответы - что же из семейных историй правда?
Говоря об истории второй мировой войны и предшествующих событиях - да, это вполне достоверный рассказ, если вы ранее не интересовались темой. Из нового для меня - лишь история еврейского врача Блоха, который лечил мать Гитлера и поэтому был неприкасаем во время всех чисток и репрессий.
В остальном будьте готовы погрузиться в рассказ о том, кто кому приходился в семье Шиндлеров и как сложилась их судьба - концентрационные лагеря, продажа имущества за копейки во имя спасения и бегство из страны (забегая вперед - отличалась ли она от миллионов других судеб? - нет). Не забудем при этом перечислить все богатства, принадлежащие семье - фабрику, магазин, кафе, виллу.
Почему в название вынесено именно кафе, так и осталось загадкой. Судя по тому, как описывалось каждое имущество Шиндлеров и его судьба - можно было бы упомянуть в названии и фабрику, и магазин, ничего бы не изменилось.
Что еще описано? Как автор ездит по архивам, посещает Инсбург и окрестности, встречается с давно забытыми родственниками. Проведена коллосальная работа по поиску и систематизированию информации, но в книге это все предстает достаточно сухим текстом - то ли потому, что автор эмоционально далека от историй, то ли ввиду других факторов. Эмоций при прочтении - 0.
Все еще придерживаюсь мнения, что не все личные история и исследования надо превращать в книгу для широкой публики.
⭐⭐2/5
November 19, 2021
For anyone interested in Austrian history covering the late nineteenth century to the aftermath of the Second World War, this is essential reading. The fact that it is a memoir, and not a history book, makes it all the more relevant. What Meriel Schindler uncovers in the search for the truth about her family is not only startling, but a revealing portrait of the dark heart of Austrian society through the lived experience of those who were actually there. It is also deeply personal. The book begins with the death of Schindler's father, a trader who failed to pay his creditors and dragged his family through a life of anxiety and instability. Born in Innsbruck, Austria, her father possesses a few precious cups and saucers from the cafe his family once owned, but throughout her childhood, Meriel is unable to separate her father's facts from fiction. The Schindler family is fragmented, full of silence and contradictions. To uncover the truth, Meriel must go back several generations, to when the first Schindlers travelled from Bohemia to Austria to settle in the mountainous region of Innsbruck. What comes across is the Schindlers' dual identity as both Austrian and Jewish, as well as what it means to be an immigrant; how finding one's place in a new country can enhance the survival instincts, the determination to succeed. However, the changes that take place in Europe during the First World War will have huge ramifications for the Schindlers and, ultimately, determine their fate. Yet, fascinating though the historical elements of this story are, there are many such stories. What I found unique about Schindler's memoir is the way her voice breaks through the silence of trauma. Her father's trauma in particular, but also the trauma of an entire country and the way it has dealt with its role in this dreadful period of history. I, myself, have Austrian heritage, and I am well aware of the gaps in my own family history, the fragmentation of families, the collective amnesia surrounding that entire period. My grandmother didn't want to talk about the war. Period. If I persisted asking questions, like what happened to so and so, the answer was always, 'I don't know.' There were family disagreements, but I don't know what the arguments were about. Or what happened to my great-aunt in Hungary, her children, or my great-grandfather. It seems to me, that in writing her memoir, Meriel Schindler is going some way towards healing the trauma that results from the absence of truth and, moreover, from meaningful conversations about that truth. Her focus on Innsbruck as a microcosm of Austrian society, the presence of what might be described as latent anti-semitism in the city, and the fervour with which it was able to rise and take hold in the wake of post war inflation and the Great Depression, is eye-opening. She describes the hopeless inadequacy of earlier memorials, the removal from the landscape of work and concentration camps as they are replaced with industrial sites and residential homes. If there was a need for post-war generations to forget, there is a need for those who come after to acknowledge, and to remember. It is not enough to condemn; we must recognise the danger that comes from avoiding truth, forgetting.
May 3, 2021
The Lost Café Schindler by Meriel Schindler is a fascinating, moving exploration of history and family. In 2017, Meriel’s father Kurt died. The author wanted to dig deeper to unravel long standing family mysteries and to understand her father with greater clarity. Through documents, letters and photos the book travels to Austria, Italy, Britain and the USA, following the lives of family members distanced and separated by war and disagreements. At the heart of the book is the Café Schindler an establishment founded in 1922 that became the beating of Innsbruck social life. It wasn’t just a business but the realisation of a dream. The arrival of the Nazi’s changed everything. The book is a beautiful retracing of family history that reconnects the past, people and place. It also highlights the story of the Jews of the Austro - Hungarian Empire, recognising the importance of not just remembering but sharing. A gripping, intimate portrait of memory and family, it holds a bright candle to the shadows of the past.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an early digital copy of the book in exchange for honest feedback.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an early digital copy of the book in exchange for honest feedback.
April 9, 2021
An impeccably researched and written family history and also a personal memoir unravelling all sorts of mysteries of this branch of the Schindler family and the tales told her by her fraudster father.
Lots here for anyone interested in Innsbruck, food and cafe society and how the family ran a smart cafe for many years that was the place to be.
It is a deeply comfortable and comforting read and sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.
Unusual, original, moving and highly recommended.
Lots here for anyone interested in Innsbruck, food and cafe society and how the family ran a smart cafe for many years that was the place to be.
It is a deeply comfortable and comforting read and sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.
Unusual, original, moving and highly recommended.
April 29, 2024
I picked up this book in a store in Vienna to read on my way back home to Israel… so everything described in the book has a bit of a personal touch for me. It was especially interesting and scary at the same time to see how gradually antisemitism developed in post war Germany and how the story repeats itself.
December 4, 2024
Very interesting story.
June 22, 2023
Through research and a very detailed narrative. The book does take you back in time and at the same time it's a good balance between present and past description. These stories must be told so that new generation is updated from what has happened in past.
February 19, 2022
I had the honor, along with my colleague, Ed Kless, to interview Meriel Schindler on The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy, on February 11, 2022. You can listen here:
https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/t...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Meriel did a great job blending her family history with the historical events going on in Austria at the time. It's an inspiring read, an excellent reminder of how the human yearning for liberty continues to burn even during the worst of times. Highly recommended!
https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/t...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Meriel did a great job blending her family history with the historical events going on in Austria at the time. It's an inspiring read, an excellent reminder of how the human yearning for liberty continues to burn even during the worst of times. Highly recommended!
January 29, 2022
This personal history of discovery describes a family's experience of the descent of Austria into genocidal racism. This unsparing account of history and recollection shows that the Holocaust was at wartime Britain's doorstep.
May 18, 2021
This book documents Meriel Schindler's mission to piece together the truth behind her family's history following the death of her father; it is a fascinating read - part personal memoir, part family history, part real life history.
Meriel's journey takes her to many of the pleasant places that her family lived in - Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck, the USA - and many darker places that many family members found themselves in due to their Jewish heritage.
It is an emotional read at times - it was fascinating to read of the thoughts and opinions of those living in the changing European continent before, during and after both World Wars. It was incredibly moving to read the stories of people who built successful businesses, fought bravely for the Hapsburg Empire - but then found themselves outcasts in their own country because of their culture and religion.
There are also some interesting sections regarding the youthful Hitler and his lifelong gratitude to the Jewish doctor who tended his Mother. I found myself unable to understand how the young man - who actually sounded like a decent human being at that time - was transformed into the hateful creature he became in later life.
The writing is beautifully descriptive - you can imagine the people, places and scenery (and there are some photographs to illustrate the narrative in places). The "Lost Cafe Schindler " in question sounds a wonderful place - THE place to be at the time - evoking the glamour of the inter-war years that we see in the old Hollywood movies of that period.
I would recommend this book if you are interested in cafe society, 19th and 20th century history, and the stories of real people living through those times.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.
Meriel's journey takes her to many of the pleasant places that her family lived in - Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck, the USA - and many darker places that many family members found themselves in due to their Jewish heritage.
It is an emotional read at times - it was fascinating to read of the thoughts and opinions of those living in the changing European continent before, during and after both World Wars. It was incredibly moving to read the stories of people who built successful businesses, fought bravely for the Hapsburg Empire - but then found themselves outcasts in their own country because of their culture and religion.
There are also some interesting sections regarding the youthful Hitler and his lifelong gratitude to the Jewish doctor who tended his Mother. I found myself unable to understand how the young man - who actually sounded like a decent human being at that time - was transformed into the hateful creature he became in later life.
The writing is beautifully descriptive - you can imagine the people, places and scenery (and there are some photographs to illustrate the narrative in places). The "Lost Cafe Schindler " in question sounds a wonderful place - THE place to be at the time - evoking the glamour of the inter-war years that we see in the old Hollywood movies of that period.
I would recommend this book if you are interested in cafe society, 19th and 20th century history, and the stories of real people living through those times.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.
November 1, 2022
This is a great family memoir. As the author attempts to understand her own childhood with an unstable and sometimes imprisoned businessman father, she is led back to previous generations and to her well-established and assimilated Jewish ancestors in Innsbruck, Austria, and to the story of their family's famous Cafe Schindler and their distilling business.
Through that lens we receive a 150 year history of Germany, the Austria-Hungarian empire, and the lives of these assimilated successful Jews. Their integration was of course illusory. The Nazis came, and some survived through immigration and others perished. The Nazis forced the sale, and appropriated, the family businesses, the family scattered, and the story might have seemed to end. But through the author's research, we learn not only about the war years in a very particular small town, but also the late 1940s and 1950s as the family tried to recover assets lost in an Austria that was indifferent and hostile, and preferred to view itself as a victim of the Germans, rather than a country of all too willing collaborators with the Nazis.
We hear the true story on which Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds was based - it happened in and around Innsbruck.
One member of the family, a Jewish doctor, had a unique connection to Adolph Hitler, having cared for Hitler's mother when Hitler was 17. This connection enabled him to survive and flee under the Führer's personal protection - making him possibly the only Jew that Hitler didn't try to kill.
I love this book for the way in which it interweaves personal history and European history. Highly recommended.
Through that lens we receive a 150 year history of Germany, the Austria-Hungarian empire, and the lives of these assimilated successful Jews. Their integration was of course illusory. The Nazis came, and some survived through immigration and others perished. The Nazis forced the sale, and appropriated, the family businesses, the family scattered, and the story might have seemed to end. But through the author's research, we learn not only about the war years in a very particular small town, but also the late 1940s and 1950s as the family tried to recover assets lost in an Austria that was indifferent and hostile, and preferred to view itself as a victim of the Germans, rather than a country of all too willing collaborators with the Nazis.
We hear the true story on which Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds was based - it happened in and around Innsbruck.
One member of the family, a Jewish doctor, had a unique connection to Adolph Hitler, having cared for Hitler's mother when Hitler was 17. This connection enabled him to survive and flee under the Führer's personal protection - making him possibly the only Jew that Hitler didn't try to kill.
I love this book for the way in which it interweaves personal history and European history. Highly recommended.
March 30, 2022
I just finished this amazing book. Meriel Schindler has written a thorough and detailed accounting of her family through four generations during the years of the two World Wars. It is clear she has left no stone unturned. The beginning chapters of the book are a bit overwhelming, but if you stick with this story to the end, you will feel the breadth and depth of this family's struggles, and you will feel as if you have stepped back in time. Meriel's family has been both victim and survivor during the terrible time of the Nazis in Europe. It hurts my heart to see how much hardship her family endured. It makes me wonder, over and over, how the world allowed this cruelty to exist. How could one man or woman ever believe that he or she was better than others, simply because of their religion? Of course, this question arises repeatedly through the history of the world, not only related to religion, but also to race, gender, ethnicity, nobility, and wealth. We must never, ever forget the errors of those who followed the evil thoughts of the leaders who placed themselves on this throne of power. We must be vigilant to make sure this does not ever happen again. I thank Meriel Schindler for this factful and meaningful story of her family, and I wish peace to her and her family as they try to reconcile the loss and pain of so many friends and relatives from her family tree. May God be with all of us.
October 5, 2021
This is a marvelous history of one family, chronicling two world wars and some of the most horrific events of recent history. The author Meriel Schindler's father Kurt passes away, leaving in his wake boxes and boxes filled with old documents and photo albums. Meriel, seeking a way to come to terms with her fractured relationship with her father, delves into the history of their family, looking for truths in her father's sometimes extremely fantastical stories of family history. She finds this and much, much more.
The stories of family are centered around the cafe, which was the "in" place to go before WWII hits and jews are suppressed from owning and operating any businesses.
This story is rich with history, from nineteenth-century Bohemia to present day, the reader is taken on a journey of discovery with Meriel. A rather poignant tale of family success, failure, sadness, fear and every emotion in between.
I highly recommend this book to readers interested in the history of Austrian Jews before during and after two world wars and the history of Innsbruck itself. Thank you to the publishers at W.W, Norton and Company and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.
The stories of family are centered around the cafe, which was the "in" place to go before WWII hits and jews are suppressed from owning and operating any businesses.
This story is rich with history, from nineteenth-century Bohemia to present day, the reader is taken on a journey of discovery with Meriel. A rather poignant tale of family success, failure, sadness, fear and every emotion in between.
I highly recommend this book to readers interested in the history of Austrian Jews before during and after two world wars and the history of Innsbruck itself. Thank you to the publishers at W.W, Norton and Company and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.
September 21, 2022
Growing up in a society built up on lies I do not trust ”official” history books. The stories of individuals, the stories of families are another thing. When you see how a thin red thread is twisted and turned - and often cut - in the boiling pot of now and t/here it explains so much more than the intricate descriptions of a battle here and a battle there.
I got this book on my way from Vienna to Ljubljana to Istria and it did the trick. From Bohemia to Innsbruck, from Innsbruck to all over the world I traveled with Kafkas and Blochs and Schindlers.
In my family there was a man who once went to the next county. He was a travelling hero!!!! (I must have taken after him 😂!) (He was killed, too, in the boiling pot of then.)
Strongly recommend.
I got this book on my way from Vienna to Ljubljana to Istria and it did the trick. From Bohemia to Innsbruck, from Innsbruck to all over the world I traveled with Kafkas and Blochs and Schindlers.
In my family there was a man who once went to the next county. He was a travelling hero!!!! (I must have taken after him 😂!) (He was killed, too, in the boiling pot of then.)
Strongly recommend.
July 23, 2021
Fantastic book that deserves Phillip Sand’s endorsement.
The author applies her legal skills to the task of discovering her family history. She skilfully weaves a compelling story from the papers her father Kurt left together with documents dug out of the local archives, old newspapers, family recollections, photo albums, and the memoires of relatives including that of Dr Bloch, Hitler’s mother’s physician.
Reading this as I attempt a similar, if less ambitious project to understand my own Austrian, Jewish family past I am sad that I don’t have as many photos or first hand memories to help me understand, but she has shown me how compelling a story can be written from fragments.
The author applies her legal skills to the task of discovering her family history. She skilfully weaves a compelling story from the papers her father Kurt left together with documents dug out of the local archives, old newspapers, family recollections, photo albums, and the memoires of relatives including that of Dr Bloch, Hitler’s mother’s physician.
Reading this as I attempt a similar, if less ambitious project to understand my own Austrian, Jewish family past I am sad that I don’t have as many photos or first hand memories to help me understand, but she has shown me how compelling a story can be written from fragments.
October 5, 2021
The author really delved deep into the archives of Innsbruck to research her family history. This book is not just about her family lineage but also the Cafe Schindler which underwent many evolutions. I learned a great deal about Austrian history from reading this book. I enjoyed the deep roots of family information the author fleshed out. It’s a hefty tome and I took my time while reading to digest all that it revealed. I heard about this book during Edelweiss Bookfest and was eager to read it. Thanks to the kind publicist at WW Norton for sending me a hard copy of the book and Negalley for the digital copy.
April 11, 2021
I found this book incredibly moving as Meriel Schindler revealed her family’s history and the traumatic times her family lived through. I particularly liked the style in which she chose to write her family history, incorporating the details of her research in the present day as part of the story, as she delved deeply into her family’s past. Having been brought up with what may have seemed exaggerated stories told by her father, Kurt Schindler, she was able to verify a lot of what she had been told about the people and events that occurred under the Nazi regime. Highly recommended.
March 2, 2023
Great memoir. I holidayed in Zillertal a few years ago and was always struck at how little is written about the Tyrol in WW2 years bar the Chalet School series for young girls. I had visited Innsbruck one summer evening and will definitely go back some day and have some cake in Das Schindler in honour of the Schindlers,Blochs etc all
January 3, 2022
Amazing book!!!
November 13, 2021
Excellent writer! An unusual story of a café in Austria and the Jewish family that owned it. The investigation by a daughter of her father's parents and other ancestors during the two World Wars is captivating!
June 16, 2022
The Lost Cafe Schindler is essentially about the horror of World War 2 and the Holocaust. The Schindler family were business people in the Tyrol region of Austria in Innsbrook. The family had multiple businesses included the Cafe. The focus of the book is on the author's father, Kurt and her grandfather, Hugo. Hugo ran the cafe which seemed to be a central part of the life in Innsbrook.
All of this ended with the rise of the Nazi party. Hugo was assaulted and beaten to within an inch of his life in 1938 during Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass. Kristallnacht was the beginning of the Holocaust and is still commemorated around the world. While Hugo and Kurt and Kurt's mother were able to escape the Holocaust in England thru an insane and convoluted immigration process set up by the Nazis, many of their family members perished in Auschwitz and Theresienstadt for no other reason than that they were Jewish. Shockingly, after the war the family, who was alive, returned to Innsbrook to take over their business and their property. An interesting side note is that one of the relatives of the Schindler family was Dr. Eduard Bloch who was the physician who took care of Hitler's mother and Hitler himself. Hitler's mother died from metastatic breast cancer and Hitler was supposedly grateful for his care. Yes, Hitler's mother's doctor was Jewish.
What is hard about this book are there are so many names of family members. It seems that the Schindlers were related to every Jewish family in Austria including the Kafkas. A family tree would have helped. Also Meriel Schindler is very hard on her father. He supposedly witnessed his father's beating on Kristallnacht, but Schindler proves that that could not be true because he was supposedly safe in England on that night. Nevertheless, the trauma of those that survived the Holocaust can never be understood by those of us who did not experience it. Who cares if he was physically present? He heard the stories from his father and he felt his pain.
All of this ended with the rise of the Nazi party. Hugo was assaulted and beaten to within an inch of his life in 1938 during Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass. Kristallnacht was the beginning of the Holocaust and is still commemorated around the world. While Hugo and Kurt and Kurt's mother were able to escape the Holocaust in England thru an insane and convoluted immigration process set up by the Nazis, many of their family members perished in Auschwitz and Theresienstadt for no other reason than that they were Jewish. Shockingly, after the war the family, who was alive, returned to Innsbrook to take over their business and their property. An interesting side note is that one of the relatives of the Schindler family was Dr. Eduard Bloch who was the physician who took care of Hitler's mother and Hitler himself. Hitler's mother died from metastatic breast cancer and Hitler was supposedly grateful for his care. Yes, Hitler's mother's doctor was Jewish.
What is hard about this book are there are so many names of family members. It seems that the Schindlers were related to every Jewish family in Austria including the Kafkas. A family tree would have helped. Also Meriel Schindler is very hard on her father. He supposedly witnessed his father's beating on Kristallnacht, but Schindler proves that that could not be true because he was supposedly safe in England on that night. Nevertheless, the trauma of those that survived the Holocaust can never be understood by those of us who did not experience it. Who cares if he was physically present? He heard the stories from his father and he felt his pain.
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