“Mom, these are real heroes, aren’t they?” My ten-year-old daughter asks me. The heroes are called Fanny, Robert, Arnold or Trudy and are between 90 and 96 years old. You are of Jewish origin, fled Vienna shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and now live in New York. Their life stories and memories of the Vienna of their childhood are different, and the trauma they experienced also varies greatly. While some have visited Austria regularly and often speak German, for others it would be impossible, too painful and emotional. The memories of the horror they experienced and the use of their mother tongue sometimes bring tears to their eyes even today.
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