When Dena Romero told her cousin she was thinking of applying for German citizenship, the response was one of disbelief. "You're thinking of doing what?" Dena's decision stemmed from a love affair with Germany that began in her childhood. Now retired, Dena still travels to Guntersblum, her father's Heimat, to visit old friends. The moment the vineyards on the steep hills across the Rhine come into view, Dena feels perfect contentment and belonging, as if she too were returning home.
Dena's story and similar stories from many others are told in this book. Maya, a young journalist for Deutsche Welle, pursued German citizenship to boost her career. When she's not anchoring the news or covering the Trump administration, she's honing her ability to studiously avoid eye contact in smoky Berlin bars. Yermi has a response for people who question his decision to live in the country that murdered his ancestors. "I tell them in Berlin I feel a sense of belonging - to the culture, to the values - and that I feel welcomed here." Pippa, a British writer based in Scotland, is becoming a German citizen in reaction to the 2016 Brexit vote.
A Place They Called Home is the first book to address the significance of restored German citizenship for the descendants of Holocaust-era survivors. Each of the writers contributing to this volume made a decision to reclaim something that was taken from their families. Their motives differ, but they share a renewed connection to the place their families called home.
Berlinica Publishing LLC offers English-language books from Berlin, German; fiction, non-fiction, travel guides, history about the Wall and the Third Reich, Jewish life, art, architecture and photography, as well as travel guides and cookbook. It also offers documentaries and feature films on DVD, as well as music CDs. Berlinica caters to history buffs, Americans of German heritage, travelers, and artists and young people who love the cutting-edge city in the heart of Europe. Berlinica cooperates with Berlin-based publishing houses.
Berlinica's current and upcoming titles include "Our West Berlin," by various authors, also five translated books by famed Weimar author Kurt Tucholsky as well as Harold Poor's landmark biography of Tucholsky, two translated plays by Ernst Toller, and two American travel stories by Alfred Kerr and Roda Roda, soon to be followed by Egon Erwin Kisch's "Paradise America".
In the non-fiction department, we have "Rocking the Wall," the Bruce-Springsteen-book and "Burning Beethoven," about German Americans in World War I, both by Erik Kirschbaum, also "Mark Twain in Berlin," by Andreas Austilat, "Berlin 1945: World War II: Photos of the Aftermath," by Michael Brettin, "The Berlin Wall Today," a full-color guide to the remnants of the Wall, by Michael Cramer, "Berlin in the Cold War," about post-World War II history, and "A Place they Called Home," edited by Donna Swarthout about Jews returning to Germany.
We also offer "The Berlin Cookbook," a full-color collection of traditional German recipes by Rose Marie Donhauser, the picture book "Wings of Desire," by Lothar Heinke, "Martin Luther's Travel Guide," by Cornelia Dömer, "Leipzig! The City of Books und Music," by Sebastian Ringel, and "Berlin For Free," a guide for the frugal traveler by Monica Maertens.
