New York
Published in Issue #21 Translated from German by John Howard subscribe to unlock the full storyPark Slope, Brooklyn, 1995
Erich and Hanna have a small apartment on the second floor of a narrow brownstone. Each floor of this single family home was converted many years ago. Today, it’s not so easy for the two of them to climb the steep stairs. A lawyer lives above them with his girlfriend. He often works late into the night. A family with two children occupies the apartment below them. The man is a policeman, the woman a nurse. They have the largest apartment and have use of the small garden in the back.
Erich and Hanna moved here from Vienna many years ago. They got married on the crossing from Lisbon to New York. Erich worked for many decades as an editor in a publishing house and was responsible for German-language literature. Hanna translated books from German into English. Literature and old books have always been their passion.
Now Erich tries to enjoy his retirement. He celebrated his seventy-eighth birthday this year. Hanna is five years younger.
They regularly receive invitations from the Austrian Embassy to events such as recitals, film screenings, exhibitions and lectures. The Cultural Department of the Embassy seems particularly to care about topics that have to do with Judaism. Erich and Hanna like attending these so they can live a little in the past. But this time is different. They’ve received a card for a reception on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war.
Erich has decided to wear his...
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