We have always been a family of knitters. It's what we do to relax and pass the time when we are indoors. It's just as soothing yet more enduring than a cup of chicken noodle soup. A good knitting project occupies more time than a game of Monopoly or Ticket to Ride. And the soft…
Places to Call Home
Nine years ago I was learning not to pet peoples' dogs or smile at strangers like we did back in Montana. Parenting took up a lot more of my time than it does nowadays with only one very independent tenth grader left at home. And I was obsessed with eating giant cheesy brezels with pumpkin…
Shelf Life
I never expected fame or fortune from a book about German Jews reclaiming their German citizenship. In fact, the positive reviews and publicity for A Place They Called Home quite exceeded my expectations. My eleven co-authors and I, most of us novices in the publishing world, were elated that our stories reached, and even touched, an audience of…
BBC’s ‘Heart and Soul’ Comes to Berlin
My efforts to find a venue for the Berlin book launch of A Place They Called Home had left me frustrated until I met the team at Archetyp Cafe. Owned by a couple of brothers from a German Jewish family, the cafe became our living room for last month's lively and intimate Sunday afternoon conversation…
Berlin Book Launch – March 17th
“A Place They Called Home. Reclaiming Citizenship. Stories of a New Jewish Return to Germany” Edited by Donna Swarthout (in English) WHEN: Sunday, March 17, 3pm-5pmWHERE: Archetyp Café, Marienburger Str. 5, 10405 Berlin Donna Swarthout and co-authors will discuss their stories of returning to Germany and reclaiming the German citizenship that was stripped from their…
January News
My recent 'featured' Times of Israel column, I'm Jewish, American and happy to live in Berlin, sparked some outrage and hateful messages from people like Nanette ("I spit on your post!" she screamed into my inbox). Ah well, naysayers like Nanette can't seem to digest positive reports from Jews who live in Germany. All the…
A Place They Called Home: Event Photos
A Place They Called Home. Reclaiming Citizenship. Stories of a New Jewish Return to Germany was introduced at the Leo Baeck Institute's Center for Jewish History in New York on December 10th. Yale historian David Sorkin gave introductory remarks, I spoke about the development and significance of the book, and we had a lively panel…
December 10th Book Release
A Place They Called Home. Reclaiming Citizenship. Stories of a New Jewish Return to Germany, my edited collection of essays published by Berlinica and supported by the Stiftung Zurückgeben, will appear on December 10, 2018. This is the first book to give a voice to the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who reclaim German…
What’s Next?
The writing, editing, and proofreading are done. The hand-wringing, fretting, and kvetching are almost behind me. My co-authors, a sundry mix of descendants of German Jews spanning generations and continents, have stuck with me on an uphill path that slowly twisted towards its final destination. Together we have produced a whole that is greater than…
No Time Wasted
Timing can mean everything in life, making for sheer bliss when it's right and dashed hopes when it isn't. This year I set my sights on completing a book manuscript in time to take a ten day summer vacation in Italy with my family. Whether from due diligence or dumb luck, somehow it worked out.…
Donna Swarthout 