Author Talk: Austrian Again: Reclaiming a Lost Legacy

In this poignant memoir, Anne embarks on a personal quest to uncover her family’s hidden Holocaust history while pursuing Austrian citizenship offered to descendants of Nazi and Austrofascist victims. What begins as a bureaucratic process becomes a powerful exploration of memory, identity, and belonging as she pieces together long-suppressed stories of her Austrian and Czechoslovakian roots.

Blending personal reflection with contemporary questions of heritage and reparation, this timely story offers a fresh perspective on reclaiming a lost past and understanding the enduring impact of history on the present. A conversation with Dr. Nicole L. Immler will focus on what the world can learn from Austria's ongoing journey through Holocaust reparations, and why it matters today.

Register to join us online on January 22 at 11:30 a.m. ET. Purchase the book online. Please contact cajl@tisrael.org with questions. 

Author

Anne Hand was born in 1985 in New York. Her grandmother was a librarian, and she grew up attached to the power of the written word. Her love of books and the worlds they transported her to have always fueled her desire to make change in the world. Anne has spent her career blending research, policy, and practice to create social impact across the Americas and beyond. She is a recognized expert in global education and development, publishing on topics related to technology and social impact. She holds a BSc. from McGill University and an Ed.M. from Harvard University. Austrian Again is her first book.

Facilitator

Nicole L. Immler is Professor of Historical Memory and Transformative Justice at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht. Exploring the afterlife of historical injustice (Holocaust, colonialism, human rights violations in various ways), her research on recognition, repair and justice links (Oral) History, Memory Studies and Transitional Justice. Specifically she explored the afterllife of restitution processes in Austria and the Netherlands; articles are published in various Journals, such as Memorystudies ("Too little too late?"). She is author of the book Das Familiengedàchtnis der Wittgensteins.