Illustrator: Noah Phillips

Publisher: MomentBooks

ISBN: 978-1-942134-61-9

In July of 2015, just before his death, I had the honor and privilege of interviewing singer, and Academy Award Nominated Broadway Star, Theodore Bikel. At the time, there was so much to ask him that I never got around to inquire about his childhood. 

Bikel's widow, Aimee Ginsburg Bikel has now provided me through her publisher, MomentBooks, a brief little book, Theodore Bikel's The City of Light, that was born out of a short story written by her late husband in 2014. Incidentally, I attended in 2011 in Montreal, Canada Lies My Father Told Me and in 2012 his fantastic performance in Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears when he was well in his eighties. Where he had all his energy is baffling!

The book's storyline is Theo's tale of what he experienced as a young lad during the rise, and then explosion of hatred that preceded the Holocaust during his childhood in Vienna, Austria. 

Aimee states in the Forward that Te'o, (his German nickname), loved being Jewish and worked hard to make the world a better place for all people everywhere. And as he grew older, Theo would recount stories from when he was a small lad living in Vienna. Many of his stories were funny and joyful, but, as we read a few that are included in Aimee's tome, some reflect his sadness as he never really forgot the sorrow and fright of having to escape his happy days in Vienna and having to feel like a refugee the rest of his life. 

The brief narratives include his immediate family's escape from Austria leaving behind his Oma (grandmother), who later joined them in Tel Aviv, his love of books and biblical tales, his perception of the Viennese Jews, the famous Jewish City Temple (Stadtempel), anti-Semitism, his Bar Mitzvah, the German invasion and its aftermath as it affected the Jews, and the horrors of Kristallnacht. In a very short time, Theo would feel that he was no longer an integral part of Vienna and would never feel completely at home ever again.

Aimee points out in the Afterword that after many years, the people of Vienna, young and old, felt dismayed, regretful, and even ashamed about everything that had happened. As mentioned, one person who worked hard to make Austria a good and safe country for everyone was Barbara Prammer, the former president of the Austrian government. She invited Theo to Vienna to sing his beautiful songs so as to remember what happened, to apologize, and to show honor and respect to all those who were hurt. Theo, at the age of almost ninety, accepted the invitation, and precisely seventy-five years after Kristallnacht, the Night of Glass, returned to Vienna with his guitar and memories. 

Austria's Parliament was the scene where Theo performed before many dignitaries, ministers, ambassadors, army commanders, council members, and many leaders of the country who all wanted to pay their respect to all of the Jewish people that were chased away, hurt or murdered. 

The book is perfectly complemented by Noah Phillips' illustrations that illuminate the story. 

As an added bonus, we also have a glossary of some colorful Yiddish words and expressions that even my Sephardic wife has picked up from me over the years. She never was familiar with the Yiddish language until she met me. Also included is Theo's favorite Hanukah song and even his grandmother's recipe for Honey Cake (Lekach). Try it, you don't have to be Jewish to like it! 

FOLLOW HERE TO READ NORM'S INTERVIEW WITH THEODORE BIKEL IN 2015