Becoming American began as a story I wrote after a trip with my daughter in search of our family roots in Eastern Europe. My father had narrowly escaped from Austria just before the outbreak of the Second World War, while my mother survived in hiding in Slovakia. After the war, my father worked for the prosecution at the Nuremberg War Crimes Military Tribunal. Afterward, he began a lengthy career with military intelligence agencies. That kept us in Europe for many years. By the time of the trip, both my parents had died.

In particular, my daughter and I went in search of a rural Jewish cemetery in which my paternal great grandparents were buried. This turned out to be an ambitious undertaking, as my elderly aunt could barely recall the cemetery, the small village they had lived in did not even appear on our maps, and few people in the Czech countryside spoke English.

The ensuing search, along with writing about it for other family members, caused me to reflect first on my experiences growing up in post-war Europe. Then, my family’s immigration to the United States.  And, finally, my becoming engaged in American social and political developments. Soon, I began writing about all that, as memories flooded back. I wrote several more essays about those experiences, my feelings about immigrating, and my progressive sense of being American. These stories formed a narrative that became the basis for a book. Thirty-five chapters later, I had produced Becoming American.

I hope my book provides you with a clearer understanding of the immigrant experience and the meaning of becoming an American. I appreciate your interest and hope you will continue to follow my writing, beginning with the articles on the Other Writing page.