One Family's Letters From Prague

by Raya Czerner Schapiro (Compiler), Helga Czerner Weinberg (Compiler)

In May 1939, in Nazi-occupied Prague, a Jewish family of five traded their luxurious apartment to a German officer for five exit visas to the United States. At the last minute, the officer produced only three exit visas. The father's prominent position at Shell Oil put him in immediate danger, so he used the three visas for himself, his wife and their infant son, leaving his two little girls in Prague in their grandmother's and uncle's care for what they all assumed would be only a matter of weeks. This is the acutal correspondence between the girls grandmother and uncle in Prague and their mother and father in the United States, over a two year period.

Genres: Holocaust

254 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of letters between family members who are split between Prague and the US is an unusual glimpse into the day-to-day struggles of people trying to flee the Nazi machine. It wasn't so simple to "just leave", and, for most, it was downright impossible. I also loved how the authors interspersed the changing laws discriminating against Jews at the ends of the letters, as it gives the reader perspective on the ever-tightening prohibitions. A good read.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a microscopic look at a family trying to get out of Prague from 1939-1941 and their letters to their family who had already emigrated to the US. Not a surprise ending but heartbreaking story.

[Academy Chicago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legend has it, this book was an inspiration for Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Unfortunately, we did not know this until we read it in the obituary of Raya Schapiro (Weinberg's sister).