Only through family stories can we gain the capacity for nuance to apply to the past as a whole. Without a habitual association with such intimate details, it's quite easy to fall into gross, ideological mischaracterizations of the world, both then and now. Thank you for sharing.
Such a family saga. How imprtant is to tell it to children. Like jews were telling their children ALL the story from the beginning. Thank you for sharing
Sounds like the plot of Sounds of Music to some extent.
Nanking does have a decent amount of Republican era stuff left, but obviously even if some things are there, it's unlikely the spirits of it really exist. The CCP had only fairly recently made a 180 on preserving the past (and even then not a full 180) and it's not hard to imagine that the past they choose to preserve would by default orient towards the mainstream people and culture.
Fascinating story, Chris. Easily the makings of a novel.
My grandpa was a Greek Jew from Thessaloniki (Salonica) who survived the purges there, joined up with an American army attachment during WW2 as a translator/spy (he was gifted with languages) and eventually went to Chongqing to help the US and Chinese Nationalist forces at the tail end of the war because he somehow taught himself Mandarin in a year. He left when Mao took over.
He ended up running the American Bar Association back in the US after a long career in law in NYC.
They don't make old people like they used to!
Also, this was an enjoyable, fast-paced novel about Jews fleeing to Shanghai during WW2. Came out last year:
I’m currently writing in from Astoria, New York and can’t help noticed the irony that one of my Chinese great grandfathers was in Germany studying physics before ww2 started. I love personal stories (especially ones that take place in China as I am Chinese diaspora and part of me always longs to know more about the place my family came from that I never got to live in). I’m sorry you weren’t able to find evidence of your families. I feel nervous about visiting my father’s hometown one day for the same reasons, even though I have traveled around China a handful of times (mostly to hike cool nature parks and get pampered for cheap). I have heard from relatives on my father’s side (his great grandfather’s home) is preserved as a museum so I’ll at least have that.
Ha. I did find the building Opa's candy store was in Astoria. Across from a playground now. Also found one old woman who spoke mostly only German still on the street -- but she didn't remember him.
“Sephardic Jews from Portugal” - that explains your name. I’d for a long time struggled to associate the name Arnade with being German origin. But this explains it fully ( rhymes with Andrade I realise!)
BTW in re: Von Falkenhausen, there's a 3 book alternate history series about what happens if the March 21, 1943 coup attempt against Hitler had worked. Von Falkenhausen is mentioned in it though I don't recall him playing an active part
This was a cracking read: dense, layered, and effortlessly spanning continents, wars, and generations without ever losing its grip. The Görlitz moment, your dad muttering "I hope it was quick," hits hard. One of those deceptively simple lines that carries a great weight.
The absurdity of your grandfather's trajectory – Weimar-era nationalist, German officer, China, Bolivia, Long Island nurse and part-time military historian – reads like a novel written by a deeply confused AI, but you and Peter make it feel inevitable. The way history shuffles people around, chews them up, spits them out, and occasionally lets them run a candy store in Queens.
And that last thought – about how history doesn’t live in buildings but in what families choose to pass down – will stick with me. We don’t inherit facts; we inherit narratives. And what a damn good one this was.
Looking forward to whatever chaos you stumble into in Uzbekistan!
A fascinating story. Thousands of German jews survived the war in Shanghai under Japanese occupation. (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/travel/jewish-life-in-shanghais-ghetto.html) I knew one holocaust survivor, Cantor Hans Cohn, who wrote about it in his autobiography (https://a.co/d/hQlnjcR). He said that the Nazis demanded the Japanese repatriate German jews back to Germany. Japan refused ,seeing no reason to make trouble in Shanghai amongst people who were minding their own business and doing them no harm. Hans spoke fluent Mandarin for the rest of his life and often traveled back to China over the years.
Fascinating story, and riveting. Thank you for sharing this bit of history and personal experience.
Regarding "5. Born Julius Israel Arnade, if there is any doubt about his heritage.", it may be worth noting that not many Jewish boys' middle names were Israel at birth at this time. However, the Nazis added Israel to all male IDs and Sarah to all female IDs when they came into power. Could it be that your grandfather acquired Israel then, rather at birth?
Hi Leara. I have done extensive genealogical research. He was born Jonah or Julius Israel Arnade, and married a Jewish woman. Julius Israel Arnade was one of 10 children of the patriarch, Israel Arnade, our great great grandfather, himself descendent from a Jewish line that goes back to Isaac Aronade (Aronades and Arnades were from the same family, but diverged a bit. Aronades barely survived the Holocaust, losing many family, and today there is only one set of Aronades I can find: In Tel Aviv, and we have confirmed with them they are related to us
Thank you, Chris, and your brother, for sharing such a beautifully layered family history.
Only through family stories can we gain the capacity for nuance to apply to the past as a whole. Without a habitual association with such intimate details, it's quite easy to fall into gross, ideological mischaracterizations of the world, both then and now. Thank you for sharing.
Such a family saga. How imprtant is to tell it to children. Like jews were telling their children ALL the story from the beginning. Thank you for sharing
Sounds like the plot of Sounds of Music to some extent.
Nanking does have a decent amount of Republican era stuff left, but obviously even if some things are there, it's unlikely the spirits of it really exist. The CCP had only fairly recently made a 180 on preserving the past (and even then not a full 180) and it's not hard to imagine that the past they choose to preserve would by default orient towards the mainstream people and culture.
Fascinating story, Chris. Easily the makings of a novel.
My grandpa was a Greek Jew from Thessaloniki (Salonica) who survived the purges there, joined up with an American army attachment during WW2 as a translator/spy (he was gifted with languages) and eventually went to Chongqing to help the US and Chinese Nationalist forces at the tail end of the war because he somehow taught himself Mandarin in a year. He left when Mao took over.
He ended up running the American Bar Association back in the US after a long career in law in NYC.
They don't make old people like they used to!
Also, this was an enjoyable, fast-paced novel about Jews fleeing to Shanghai during WW2. Came out last year:
https://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Joseph-Kanon/dp/1398519774
our grandparents certainly had more volatility to deal with, and most did it without a lot of complaining. And drinking. Lots of drinking. LoL.
That's an amazing story and US is filled with those
Loved this, Chris. Context for your wanderlust provided!
Absolutely fascinating. Definitely worth the detour as they say in the Michelin Guide. Congratulations Chris and Peter, what lives, what people.
I’m currently writing in from Astoria, New York and can’t help noticed the irony that one of my Chinese great grandfathers was in Germany studying physics before ww2 started. I love personal stories (especially ones that take place in China as I am Chinese diaspora and part of me always longs to know more about the place my family came from that I never got to live in). I’m sorry you weren’t able to find evidence of your families. I feel nervous about visiting my father’s hometown one day for the same reasons, even though I have traveled around China a handful of times (mostly to hike cool nature parks and get pampered for cheap). I have heard from relatives on my father’s side (his great grandfather’s home) is preserved as a museum so I’ll at least have that.
Ha. I did find the building Opa's candy store was in Astoria. Across from a playground now. Also found one old woman who spoke mostly only German still on the street -- but she didn't remember him.
“Sephardic Jews from Portugal” - that explains your name. I’d for a long time struggled to associate the name Arnade with being German origin. But this explains it fully ( rhymes with Andrade I realise!)
And fascinating story overall
Excellent read. A history that needs conservation.
Fahrenheit 451 is no longer a fantasy.
BTW in re: Von Falkenhausen, there's a 3 book alternate history series about what happens if the March 21, 1943 coup attempt against Hitler had worked. Von Falkenhausen is mentioned in it though I don't recall him playing an active part
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WVNRMSV?binding=kindle_edition&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1742019160&sr=8-1
Very, very good. I'm glad Peter didn't mess it up. Kudos.
This was a cracking read: dense, layered, and effortlessly spanning continents, wars, and generations without ever losing its grip. The Görlitz moment, your dad muttering "I hope it was quick," hits hard. One of those deceptively simple lines that carries a great weight.
The absurdity of your grandfather's trajectory – Weimar-era nationalist, German officer, China, Bolivia, Long Island nurse and part-time military historian – reads like a novel written by a deeply confused AI, but you and Peter make it feel inevitable. The way history shuffles people around, chews them up, spits them out, and occasionally lets them run a candy store in Queens.
And that last thought – about how history doesn’t live in buildings but in what families choose to pass down – will stick with me. We don’t inherit facts; we inherit narratives. And what a damn good one this was.
Looking forward to whatever chaos you stumble into in Uzbekistan!
A fascinating story. Thousands of German jews survived the war in Shanghai under Japanese occupation. (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/travel/jewish-life-in-shanghais-ghetto.html) I knew one holocaust survivor, Cantor Hans Cohn, who wrote about it in his autobiography (https://a.co/d/hQlnjcR). He said that the Nazis demanded the Japanese repatriate German jews back to Germany. Japan refused ,seeing no reason to make trouble in Shanghai amongst people who were minding their own business and doing them no harm. Hans spoke fluent Mandarin for the rest of his life and often traveled back to China over the years.
Fascinating story, and riveting. Thank you for sharing this bit of history and personal experience.
Regarding "5. Born Julius Israel Arnade, if there is any doubt about his heritage.", it may be worth noting that not many Jewish boys' middle names were Israel at birth at this time. However, the Nazis added Israel to all male IDs and Sarah to all female IDs when they came into power. Could it be that your grandfather acquired Israel then, rather at birth?
Hi Leara. I have done extensive genealogical research. He was born Jonah or Julius Israel Arnade, and married a Jewish woman. Julius Israel Arnade was one of 10 children of the patriarch, Israel Arnade, our great great grandfather, himself descendent from a Jewish line that goes back to Isaac Aronade (Aronades and Arnades were from the same family, but diverged a bit. Aronades barely survived the Holocaust, losing many family, and today there is only one set of Aronades I can find: In Tel Aviv, and we have confirmed with them they are related to us
Great stuff! What a story!