ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My gratitude to all those voices, past and present, alive and deceased, family and strangers, that echoed in my mind and guided the thoughts in my head. To my father, Poldi Kosiner, whose spirit has filled every page, whose words of wisdom and encouragement are an integral part of me. To my mother, Nini Kosiner, née Karpel, who struggled to retrieve memories, distant and painful, to aid in my understanding of her most guarded emotions and allowed me to reveal them within this story.

To the Shanghailanders, a select group of refugees who, like my family, followed the path from oppression in Europe to an uneasy haven in Shanghai. Of those who shared reminiscences, a special thanks to Kurt Fischer in Sydney, Australia, whose correspondence was invaluable in refining and confirming historical details. To those who helped in background research, my thanks particularly to Helga Embacher and Margit Reiter in Salzburg.

In appreciation to Wendy Thomas, my editor, for perseverance and an inquisitive nature, who prodded me onwards whenever I faltered or to new discoveries if I imagined that all had already been said. To Robin Brass, my sincere thanks for first respecting my writing and subject matter enough to publish this book and then the disciplined drive to perfection and precision in form and detail that made the process an education and a pleasure.

V.J.K.