Elizabeth F Heen

Birds in a Cage Elizabeth F Heen

Vienna, March 1938. Adolf Hitler's storm troops have just occupied Austria. Ilush, the wife of Julius, is witness to a vicious attack on elderly Jewish shopkeepers. Julius is convinced that they have no future in Austria. So, he decides to leave the country and seek refuge in the least attractive and most chaotic country for Jewish refugees, Japanese-occupied China. They find passage aboard a steamer and take off for Shanghai, where they will live for 9 years. Ilush knows she must leave behind her beloved grandmother and her favorite uncle in Prague as well as her father in Berlin. She promises to try to get them to China and write to them as often as she can. The dramatic correspondence from these family members provides the background for a story of captivity, loss and despair. It also reveals a story of courage, compassion and loyalty. Their voices pursue us until they are silenced.