Non­fic­tion

Ser­e­nade: A Mem­oir of Music and Love from Vien­na and Prague to Los Ange­les, 1927 to World War II to 2012

  • From the Publisher
May 13, 2013

Ser­e­nade is a heart­felt autobiography/​memoir that fol­lows the true lives of Franz Jung and Franziska Perg­er, as told by their daugh­ter, Car­ol Jean Del­mar. This atyp­i­cal Holo­caust love sto­ry illus­trates how music can save the human spir­it. From Vien­na and Prague to Switzer­land, Italy, Venezuela, Pana­ma, the Triscor­nia deten­tion camp in Cuba, to Amer­i­ca — Franz and Franziska flee from their home­land. The book mesh­es oper­at­ic scenes with his­tor­i­cal events and a true life love sto­ry. Franziska escapes from Vien­na at the time of the Anschluss. Franz sings for Kon­rad Hen­lein, the Nazi leader in the Sude­ten­land, and per­forms in Aus­sig when troop move­ment is sus­pect­ed near the Czech Mag­inot Line. The two are mar­ried dur­ing a troop mobi­liza­tion in Prague. Eighty-five illus­tra­tions doc­u­ment their jour­ney and include their pass­ports, which dis­play big red J’s” and Sara” and Israel” above their names, and a let­ter from the author’s great-aunt, which was the last let­ter she sent to her son before per­ish­ing in There­sien­stadt. Ser­e­nade is a mov­ing trib­ute from a daugh­ter to her par­ents, from 1927 to 2012.

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