Description
Book SynopsisTen years after the original publication of Good Neighbors, Bad Times, an unexpected letter leads Mimi Schwartz to revisit the story of her father's German village during the Third Reich.
Trade Review"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented,
Good Neighbors, Bad Times Revisited: New Echoes of My Father's German Village is an inherently fascinating and exceptionally informative blend of memoir and history."—Michael Dunford,
Midwest Book Review“In this new edition Mimi Schwartz brings us back to her father’s ancestral village of Rexingen in the German Black Forest to show us that, generations later, it still has much to teach us about decency then and now.”—Frank Mecklenburg, director of research and chief archivist of the Leo Baeck Institute
“Even if you have read
Good Neighbors, Bad Times before, you should read it again. In this second edition, Schwartz’s scrupulously researched, humane, and multivoiced account of a German village where Jews and Gentiles ‘all got along,’ according to [her] father, has been profoundly enriched. . . . The meaning of ‘neighbor’ gains an utterly new dimension.”—Alicia Ostriker, poet laureate of New York State
“Mimi Schwartz reminds us how close we are (in time, in danger, in sentiment) to the horrific past, but that, even then, individual stories from everyday people show us grace and goodness and generosity despite the suffering.”—Patrick Madden, author of
Disparates"With the two perspectives of Sayer and Schwartz you are able to see corroborating and contrasting points of view. By putting them together they showcase a deeper understanding of the village of this pivotal time. . . . Schwartz is again able to craft a narrative in a way that updates the idea of memoirs and how they can be used to educate readers."—thenerdygirlexpress.com
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface: Why I’m Revisiting Good Neighbors, Bad Times
Author’s Note to the First Edition
Part One. Close to Home
1. Treadmill to the Past
2. Anonymous Translation
3. At the Nachmittag
4. Kaffeeklatsch
5. Joie de Vivre
6. Four Stories of the Torah
7. The Revolving Room
Part Two. An Ocean Away
8. Off the Record
9. A Little Respect, Please
10. The Good Raincoat
11. Hedwig, Fritz, and “Schtumpela”
12. The Second Generation
Part Three. Back and Forth
13. Willy from Baltimore
14. Five Kilometers Away
15. A House of Antiques
16. Truth Transposed
17. What Willy’s Neighbor Says . . .
18. The Red Album
19. Where Legend Ends
20. At My Father’s Grave
Part Four. End Points
21. The Other Miriam
22. Three Little Girls
23. Yes or No?
24. The Celebration
Coda: The Conversation Continues
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions
