A View into the book you can find under http: verlag.sandstein.de reader
98-491_ThreeVillasThis book tells the stories of three villas in Dresden and the people who
built owned and inhabited them in the years 1871 to 1939. The stories and fates of the villas
and their occupants are inextricably intertwined. The buildings were owned by members of two
consecutive generations of a wealthy German-Jewish family that was imbued with a sense of civic
duty to the city it had proudly made its home: Dresden. The story of their lives however all
but vanished from the city's collective consciousness after 1945. That began to change after
1990 and the reunification of Germany when the fates of the houses and their erstwhile
residents were rediscovered and researched. Intended for a general readership interested in
learning more about these buildings and people this book demonstrates how the two surviving
villas are the authentic remnants of upper-middle-class Jewish life in Dresden.The stories in
this book speak of architecture culture and tradition identity and religion of family a
sense of belonging and loyalty to the fatherland of the education and lifestyle of the
upper-middle classes justice and law honour and duty. These stories also speak however of
marginalization and terror expulsion and escape loss and memory. Furthermore they are a
testament to empathy and humour - qualities never lost by the various family members as they
started afresh as committed global citizens after fleeing Nazi Germany.
