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He escaped the Holocaust and 'Matzoh Island,' but America was no promised land

JL;DR SUMMARY Karen Bermann's book, "The Art of Being a Stranger," offers a unique fusion of memoir, art, and poetic reflection on her family history, focusing on her father Fritz, a Holocaust survivor. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustJewish IdentityPalestineMemoirFamily DynamicsNew YorkViennaGraphic MemoirArt And LiteratureFritz Bermann

Places mentioned

Vienna, Austria
"tracing the history of her irascible refugee fathers journey from Vienna to Palestine to New York."
Palestinian Territories
"tracing the history of her irascible refugee fathers journey from Vienna to Palestine to New York."
New York, United States
"tracing the history of her irascible refugee fathers journey from Vienna to Palestine to New York."
Queens, New York, United States
"He brings up his family in the borough of Queens but evinces no sentimentality for the city."
Palisades, New Jersey, United States
"Later, every Yom Kippur, the family leaves Queens to go to the Palisades in New Jersey."

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Cairo Item ID 60502
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Retrieved 2025-09-02 05:31:13 UTC
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