Barbarians At The Gate

In this episode, we are thrilled to welcome Jean Hoffman Lewanda back to the podcast to discuss her new book, Shalama: My 96 Seasons in China, published by Earnshaw Books. Listeners may recall Jean's previous appearance, where she shared insights about her father, Paul Hoffman's memoir, Witness to History: From Vienna to Shanghai—A Memoir of Escape, Survival, and Resilience. That captivating memoir details how Paul fled Vienna at the age of 18 to escape the rise of Nazism, arrived in Shanghai in 1938, and became part of the historic wave of Jewish refugees who found a safe haven in China during World War II. Jean's new book enriches this family saga by recounting events from her mother Shalama's perspective but presented as historical fiction. Drawing on firsthand accounts, including her mother's, Jean tells the story in Shalama's voice, tracing the family's journey from Harbin to Shanghai during the war-torn decades of the mid-20th century. The book interweaves the family's history with major historical even