Things Could've Been a Lot Worse

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This autobiography presents the formation of a native Berliner, who grew up on the north side of the city as a first degree Mischling (half Jew) and who, upon completion of a waiter's apprenticeship in one of Berlin's best hotels, emigrated to Canada and, eventually the United States. This exceptional evolution from spurned Bauchnabeljude (bellybutton Jew) to respected Professor of German Studies, with all its false starts and detours, begins its course in prewar and wartime Berlin, when half Jews were treated as outsiders, and continues through the desperate postwar period when life, reduced to the black market and foraging for food became the simple yet horrific matter of survival at any price. The author's experiences in the New World, including life on the Canadian east coast, in Edmonton, Vancouver and the primitive northern Canadian wilderness, are described with deep discernment of human character and generous humor in the book's second part. This book will appeal especially to people interested in German and Jewish history as well as immigrant experience. Translated from the German by Dennis McCort, Professor Emeritus of German, Syracuse University