A Jewish Girl Finds New Roots

The poems include touchingly romantic and sad expressions of Steffi's youthful idealism and more recent humorous epistles. "My first Year in Eretz Israel" picks up the story where her previous book Jewish Girl in the Weimar Republic ends, with Steffi's arrival in 1934 at what was then Palestine. It is a lively description of the Jewish agricultural settlers who came to Palestine in the early 1930's. "The Sekilaridis House" describes Steffi's marriage to a Roman Catholic Armenian, and their adventures in the multicultural society of Jerusalem in the British Mandate of Palestine during World War II. "The Teeth of Polycrates" is a satirical story about good luck that takes place on the ship traveling from Brazil to the USA. "How I became a Teacher" describes Steffi's life in Zion, Illinois, and her enthusiastic achievement of becoming a school teacher. "The Ones that Got Away" describes Steffi's project of collecting biographies of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust - showing how they overcame suffering, found satisfying new roots, and became successful contributors in countries to which they emigrated.