The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

I love the cover

Eight o'clock on Saturday, May 13, 1939, steamer St Louis, sailing with the Amerika Linie (HAPAG), set sail from Hamburg with destination Cuba. On board were 900 people, mostly German-Jewish refugees leaving a more and more troublesome Germany for freedom at the other side of the world. The passengers had entry visas for Cuba. Nearing the island, the Cuban president Federico Laredo Brú, cancelled those visas, signed by one of his own general director. Only those visas, signed by a specific ministry, were valid. The result was that most of the 900 passengers had to stay on board and, in the end, return to Europe. Since all of them had entry visas for the US, the ship sailed on to the States and Canada, but they both refused to admit the people. They had to return to Europe. A couple of days before touching European soil, a committee had agreed with Great Britain, France, Belgium and Holland to receive the remaining refugees. In principal, only the people who were accepted by Great Britain survived the war.

The story follows Hannah, who is 12 years old in 1939, and her best friend Leo. They make their way around Berlin as the situation for the Jews become more stringent. Her parents are well off, even have money put away abroad. But as their lives are tightened, they talk about leaving their beloved Germany.

Anna is 12 years old in 2014. She grows up with her mother in New York. Her father died before she was born in mysterious circumstances. Her mother does not want to talk about what happened to him, so Anna make up his character from an old photo she has. Her mother is devastated about her loss, and it is Anna who has to take care of her mother. One day a letter and a small box arrive from Cuba and her mother is taken back to life. Her husband's aunt has sent them letters and photos, so they decide to travel to Cuba.

Of this sad exodus, Armando Lucas Correa has written a touching story of survival. But what exactly is survival? Is it just to survive, or should it be a possibility for a new future? Are there similarities between Hannah and Anna, although they are one, or even two, generations apart? Life in Cuba was another upheaval for the refugees from Germany. Revolution and a new system. How many times can you change your whole life, you sense of being? Is it better to just survive, thinking of old times, or is it better to try to adjust to whatever new life is there for you?

With this novel Armando Lucas Correa touches the essential questions in life. His characters are well drawn, which does not mean that you always agree with them. It is said of the Rosenthals (the name of Hannah's family) that they did not die. They just let go when they thought it was time. To let go can mean many things, also the prospects of a new, better life.