If Anyone Calls, Tell Them I Died

Before her afternoon nap, my mom used to say: “If anyone calls, tell them I died” and we would laugh. Growing up with her cheerful sayings, I had no idea what really happened. I knew that my grandparents went to Germany in 1956, but I didn’t know that my grandfather took his own life when they returned to Tel Aviv. I didn’t know about the legal battle my mom initiated against the German authorities for my grandfather’s death, and I certainly didn’t know about the Nazi psychiatrist that the court appointed as an expert witness in this case. In short, I didn’t know much until I found a box with letters that my grandparents sent from that trip and I went to Germany in their footsteps. My new book, If anyone calls, tell them I died is scheduled to come out March 22, 2021  “With sensitivity, love, and humor, Emanuel Rosen tells the story of his Yekke grandparents, their immigration and difficulties in the homeland of the Jewish people, and their journey in search of their roots and identit