And After the Fire
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• “Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s Halle Performances of Cantatas by His Father,” by Peter Wollny, in Bach Studies 2, edited by Daniel R. Melamed
• “Descendants of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach in the United States,” by Christoph Wolff, in Bach Perspectives 5, edited by Stephen A. Crist
Bach Digital, http://www.bach-digital.de, is a treasure trove of information.
For detailed information about the properties of iron-gall ink, see http://irongallink.org/igi_index.html
On Martin Luther and anti-Judaism, my research was aided by the many terrific studies released in recent years by the Lutheran publisher Fortress Press. Especially helpful were:
• Martin Luther, the Bible, and the Jewish People: A Reader, edited by Brooks Schramm and Kirsi I. Stjerna
• The Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Age of Renaissance and Reformation, by Heiko A. Oberman
The collected writings of Martin Luther, including Von den Juden und ihre Lügen (“On the Jews and Their Lies,” 1543), are available online at: http://www.lutherdansk.dk/WA/D.%20Martin%20Luthers%20Werke,%20Weimarer%20Ausgabe%20-%20WA.htm
Bach owned two massive collections of Luther’s German writings, the Jena Edition and the Altenburg Edition, both of which included Luther’s 1543 treatise On the Jews and Their Lies. For information on Bach’s personal library, I relied on Bachs Theologische Bibliothek, by Robin A. Leaver.
On the reception of Lutheran anti-Judaism in Bach’s religious culture:
• Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism and Bach’s St. John Passion, by Michael Marissen
• “The Character and Sources of the Anti-Judaism in Bach’s Cantata 46,” by Michael Marissen, in Harvard Theological Review 96 (2003)
In addition I relied on:
• Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany, by Robert P. Ericksen (which also provides an overview of the successful protests by church leaders against the Nazis’ so-called euthanasia program)
• Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews, by James Carroll
• Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition, by David Nirenberg
• The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945, by Richard Steigmann-Gall
On America and the Holocaust:
• Beyond Belief: The American Press & the Coming of the Holocaust 1933–1945, by Deborah E. Lipstadt
• The Holocaust in American Life, by Peter Novick
• The Abandonment of the Jews, by David S. Wyman
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, by Daniel Mendelsohn, is the most moving family memoir I know. With its grace and insight, its prism of shifting perspectives, and its gradual unfolding of the past, The Lost is an inspiration on the craft of writing.
One of the joys of researching this novel was listening to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. My favorite recordings (remarkably similar to those enjoyed by Daniel Erhardt in the novel) include: the oboe concertos recorded by Marcel Ponseele with Ensemble Il Gardinello; the cello suites, by Jean-Guihen Queyras; the violin concertos, by Amandine Beyer with Gli Incogniti; Jakob Lindberg playing the lute music; the 1998 (as opposed to their 2013) recording of the viola da gamba sonatas, by Vittorio and Lorenzo Ghielmi. One place I do differ from Daniel Erhardt is that I prefer the Simone Dinnerstein performance of the Goldberg Variations. For the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, I was drawn to the performance by Frans Brüggen, Sigiswald Kuijken, and Gustav Leonhardt with the Leonhardt Consort. For the aria “Mache dich” from the St. Matthew Passion, the performance by Peter Kooy with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, directed by Frans Brüggen. For the three (real) Bach cantatas referred to in the novel: Was Gott tut, daß ist wohlgetan (BWV 100), as performed by the Bach Collegium Japan, directed by Masaaki Suzuki; Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust (BWV 170), by Andreas Scholl with the Orchestre du Collegium Vocale, directed by Philippe Herreweghe; Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (BWV 106), by the Ricercar Consort, directed by Philippe Pierlot, the 2004 (as opposed to their 1990) recording. A final favorite: the concertos for two and three harpsichords, by Musica Amphion, directed by Pieter-Jan Belder.
I’ve also discovered the music of Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Hensel. For the works mentioned in the novel, the recordings I like best include, for Felix Mendelssohn: Ein Sommernachtstraum (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), performed by the Silver Garburg Piano Duo; the Variations concertantes in D major, op. 17, performed by Nancy Green and R. Larry Todd in a CD whose booklet contains detailed historical notes by Todd and also features many illustrations, including reproductions of Felix’s watercolors. For Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Joanne Polk’s recordings of the solo piano pieces; and Das Jahr, performed by Els Biesemans.
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to Professor Dr. Peter Wollny, director of the Bach-Archiv in Leipzig, who discussed at length his research on Sara Itzig Levy. Dr. Michael Maul of the Bach-Archiv described the experience of discovering an unknown work by Johann Sebastian Bach—something that he has had the great good fortune to do. Dr. Daniel Melamed of Indiana University, Dr. Stephen Crist of Emory University, the Rev. Dr. Robin Leaver of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Dr. Joshua Rifkin of Boston University, and Dr. Barbara Milewski of Swarthmore College shared their knowledge. I’m especially grateful to Dr. Natalie Naimark-Goldberg of Bar-Ilan University for discussing her as-yet-unpublished research on Sara Levy’s involvement with the Baruch Auerbach orphanage in Berlin.
Anita Nager, Carole Landman, and Marnie Imhoff spoke with me about the workings of family foundations. Jonathan Greenberg introduced me to the auction world. Margaret Holben Ellis, director of the Thaw Conservation Center at the Morgan Library, gave me a tour of the facility. (I am quick to note, however, that the MacLean Library in And After the Fire is very much its own, idiosyncratic institution, and any resemblance it might bear to the Morgan is purely coincidental.) Although I changed many details of her presentation, Laurella Dotan provided the basis for Helen Krieger’s bat mitzvah speech. Lucy Lang, BoHee Yoon, and Ariana Lindermayer gave cultural guidance as well as their example of professionalism and dedication. Denise Kahn guided my attempts to learn to play the piano. Theodore Feder advised me on art issues. Adam MacLean contributed his technical expertise. John Hargraves advised me to take the public bus to Buchenwald. The late Cynthia Rubin read an early draft, and her astute observations and eagle eye have enriched these pages. I miss her.
I am indebted to the staff of the Center for Jewish History, on West Sixteenth Street in New York, as well as to the librarians of the New York Public Library and the New York Society Library.
My cousin Lisa Hupf took the lead on investigating our family’s history (which is not the history of Susanna Kessler’s family), sparking a journey that led me, finally, to the site of a mass grave outside the town of Stryj, in Ukraine. My mother, Nancy Belfer, added her reflections and memories. Rivka Schiller did terrific work translating family letters.
Part of this novel was written in Cambridge, England, when my husband was a Visiting Fellow at the Woolf Institute. I thank Dr. Lars Fischer for the invitation and the institute’s entire staff for welcoming me. I particularly thank Trisha Kessler and Dr. Edward D. Kessler, director of the institute, for their hospitality and friendship.
Any mistakes in the novel are my own.
Emma Sweeney receives my heartfelt gratitude for her wisdom, guidance, encouragement, and remarkable dedication to this project. Kira Watson assisted with kindness and grace.
Claire Wachtel, my brilliant editor, read innumerable drafts of the novel and discussed it with me for hours. At every step in the process, from first consideration to published book, she brought to the novel her astonishing discernment, acute insight, and fierce commitment. I am forever grateful.
Also at HarperCollins, the marvelous Hannah Wood soothed my nerves and answered my questions at a guilt-inducing pace. Milan Bozic designed the gorgeous jacket. Lydia Weaver, Jessica Shatan Heslin, John McGee, Heather Drucker, Amanda Ainswor
th, and Renate Marchione generously contributed their many talents. I especially thank Jonathan Burnham for his faith in this novel, and Kathy Schneider for her support.
Many friends offered good cheer and companionship during the years I worked on this book, and I give them my thanks. Beth Gutcheon, Ida Nicolaisen, and the Buffalo Girls (you know who you are) helped me to navigate my way through the shoals of my chosen profession.
With their brightness and joy, Lucas and Kaleigh give me hope for the future. They and their parents, Tristan Church and Lisa Shannon Church, enhance my life.
Once again, above all I thank Michael Marissen. And once again, he knows the reasons why.
About the Author
LAUREN BELFER is the New York Times bestselling author of City of Light, a New York Times Notable Book, and A Fierce Radiance, a Washington Post Best Novel and an NPR Mystery of the Year. She lives in New York City.
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Also by Lauren Belfer
A Fierce Radiance
City of Light
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COVER DESIGN BY MILAN BOZIC
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: © AGNIESZKA KIELAK / TREVILLION IMAGES (WOMAN); © GETTY IMAGES (BACKGROUND)
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
AND AFTER THE FIRE. Copyright © 2016 by Lauren Belfer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Belfer, Lauren, author.
Title: And after the fire: a novel / Lauren Belfer.
Description: First edition. | New York: Harper, 2016.
EPub Edition MAY 2016 ISBN 9780062428547
Identifiers: LCCN 2015038472| ISBN 9780062428516 (hardcover: acid-free paper) | ISBN 9780062428523 (softcover) | ISBN 9780062428547 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Family secrets—Fiction. | Americans—Germany—Fiction. | Germany—History—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Historical. | FICTION / Biographical. | FICTION / Literary. | GSAFD: Historical fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3552.E467 A85 2016 | DDC 813/.54—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038472
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