An extraordinary memoir of a Jewish family spanning two world wars and its flight from Nazi-occupied Austria.
Meriel Schindler spent her adult life trying to keep her father, Kurt, at bay. But when he died in 2017, he left behind piles of Nazi-era documents related to her family's fate in Innsbruck and a treasure trove of family albums reaching back to before World War I. Meriel was forced to confront not only their fractured relationship, but also the truth behind their family history.
The Lost Cafe´ Schindler re-creates the journey of an extraordinary family, whose relatives included the Jewish doctor who treated Hitler's mother when she was dying of breast cancer; the Kafka family; and Alma Schindler, the wife of Gustav Mahler. But the narrative centers around the Cafe´ Schindler, famous for its pastries, home-distilled liquors, live entertainment, and hospitality-which was expropriated during the Nazi era. This is a story of...