Synopses & Reviews
Lost in a Labyrinth of Red Tape is the story of one family's desperate attempts to emigrate from Nazi Germany. The Frühaufs faced enormous obstacles with the German and foreign authorities when they attempted to take advantage of matriarch Hilde Frühauf's U.S. citizenship. At the mercy of various agencies and shippers, they became more and more entangled in the red tape of the title. The daughter went into hiding and fled to Belgium, where she was hidden by the Resistance and survived the war. Tragically, the remaining members of her family failed to emigrate, and were killed by the Nazis.
Review
"It is through a book such as this, which attempts simply to retell the story of the individuals in one family, living everyday lives, that we can begin to realize the tragic enormity of the fate that awaited them and countless others like them."
--Chicago Jewish Star
About the Author
Armin Schmid was born in Munich in 1926. His essays and articles have appeared in various journals and newspapers.
Renate Schmid was born in Schwienfurt, Germany, in 1925, and has worked in journalism and as an editor. The Schmids have collaborated on five works of nonfiction.
Margot Bettauer Dembo is an editor with the American Museum of Natural History who has translated works by Robert Gernhardt, Herta Müller, and Hans-Joachim Maaz.
Wolfgang Benz is the director of The Center for the Study of Antisemitism in Berlin.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Wolfgang Benz
Departure for the New World
Storm Clouds
Plans to Emigrate
September 1, 1939: Hitler Starts a World Conflagration
An Immigrant in New York
Getting Out of Germany on the Regular Quota
A Third Attempt
And Still They Don't Give Up
All Hope Is Lost
Fleeing the Bloodhounds
From Hiding Place to Hiding Place: Life as a Fugitive
Arrival of the Allies: Liberated at Last!
Searching for Traces
Return to Germany
Documents