Ron and Ed welcome author Meriel Schindler whose book The Lost Cafe Schindler they both highly recommends. When her father, Kurt, died in 2017, he left behind piles of Nazi era documents related to their family's fate in Innsbruck, Austria, and a treasure trove of family photo albums reaching back to before World War I. Meriel was forced to confront not only their fractured relationship, but also the truth behind their family history.

Below are the show notes. Use them to follow along while listening to the podcast:

Meriel talked about distancing herself from some of her immediate family members as she grew into adulthood. It turns out some of her distant family relationships had significant connections to rather (in)famous WWII figures.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is highly respected by Meriel and worth several visits. https://www.ushmm.org/
Innsbruck, the capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol, is where the Lost Cafe in Meriel’s book was located. It was one of the first places in Europe that you could hear jazz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innsbruck
In Austrian folklore, if you serve a piece of cake and it falls to the side, you are destined to have a terrible mother-in-law. That explains a lot.
The Austro-Hungarian empire was…..progressive….for a monarchy. By 1867, the monarch had come to understand that the Jewish population in the empire was quite useful (engineering, building, and so on). As a result, Jewish families started to move to Innsbruck in favor of education and wealth.
The economics of the Third Reich was not one of free market. It was quite state controlled and heavily centrally planned. This is at the root of the transition of the Lost Cafe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Nazi_Germany
Life changed significantly for Meriel’s family when Germany took over Austria in 1938. Her grandfather’s cafe was now state controlled and he had to sell his family villa. It was a long game of dehumanization as everything was taken away.
Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitary forces along with civilians throughout Nazi Germany on 9–10 November 1938. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht
Franz Hofer was the Nazi Gauleiter of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. As the Nazi party chief for the Tirol/Vorarlberg province he was the most powerful figure in the region. On May 3, 1945 Hofer surrendered Innsbruck to American troops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Hofer
The story of the REAL Inglorious Bastards was recounted by Meriel today during the third segment of the show today. There is also a documentary that *might* feature the Lost Cafe. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3320110/
The Lost Café Schindler will celebrate a centenary THIS YEAR which is a testament such a great business. https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Caf%C3%A9-Schindler-family-search-ebook/dp/B08HHHGX5K
You should check out the Audible version of the Lost Cafe Schindler. It was “narrated by a professional” and not by Meriel. Her words, not mine!
A big THANK YOU to Meriel Schindler for spending time with us today and talking about her book, The Lost Café Schindler. Buy it at this link if you prefer https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Caf%C3%A9-Schindler-family-search-ebook/dp/B08HHHGX5K

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

This week was bonus episode 377 - “Reagan on immigration” — Here are some of the links discussed: