Memories of a Mischling

About the Book

Marianne Gilbert Finnegan was born in Germany just before Adolph Hitler was elected Chancellor. Her Jewish father, Robert Gilbert, was a well known song writer and poet; her mother, a singer, came from a Lutheran family. By Nazi decree, the mixed marriage made their daughter a Mischling, or half breed. Fearing what was to come, the family fled Germany and eventually reached America. This is the story of Marianne’s growing up in New York City while her father tried to write in English for the Broadway stage and her mother worked in factories to support the household.

About the Author

Marianne Gilbert Finnegan came to the United States from Hitler’s Germany as a child, grew grew up in New York City, and later earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. Her career included years as director of the Connecticut Humanities Council, as college teacher and administrator, and as owner of an international bookshop in Portugal. She now teaches literature and writing at the Academy for Learning in Retirement which she founded for SUNY Empire State College. She lives with her husband in Saratoga Springs, New York, exchanging frequent visits with their five children and grandchildren.