Paths in the Storm: Jewish historical novel based on a true story

https://www.amazon.com/Paths-Storm-Fascinating-historical-fiction-ebook/dp/B07H88JGS7

July 2013 – Bordeaux

She watches the boarding stairs latch on to the plane, and a moment later she walks down the stairs, her feet trembling and her stomach in knots. She cannot believe this is the land on which her father walked seventy-five years ago. She thinks about how new immigrants who come to Israel fall on their knees to kiss the land. But no, this is not her land, she does not want to kiss it. Here, no one kisses the land, but this is the land that saved her father—it is thanks to this land that she came to this world. The land of France.

A café next to the Saint-André Cathedral in Bordeaux, France. On the table sit three cappuccinos and a shallow dish with three croissants and packets of sugar. The croissants look flaky and delicate, but the people sitting at the table do not seem to notice them at all—they are just too excited. Galia looks out onto the cathedral and she thinks with sadness, but also with pride, about her father who saw this same view every day for a year and a half, so long ago. Such a shame they never came here together. Her legs are still shaking, as is her hand that stirs milk into her coffee. Across the table from Galia sit two chemistry professors: Professor Fernando Leal Calderon of the École Nationale Supérieure ENSCBP (now its director) and the president of its alumni association, and Professor Laurent Servant, the Vice President for International Relations of the University of Bordeaux. The meeting was set after Galia sent an unassuming email asking to see the building where her father studied and received his engineering diploma, which he told her throughout her childhood was responsible for saving his life during the war.

“We read your letter with great excitement. We will be very happy to meet you,” they had responded immediately. “Your father’s professional and personal life path can be an inspiration to any student. We will publish it in the student bulletin.”

The two French professors spent hours with Galia as they toured the old and new sites, introduced her to other staff members that could provide additional information, and located old photographs.

 “Your father’s name does not appear in the graduate yearbook, most likely because the president of the university in 1942, Professor Brus, removed the names of communist and Jewish students to protect them from the fascist French who had taken control of the region. The graduate book included addresses which were used to help make arrests. Today, in recognition of his actions, the tram station in the center of the campus is named Brus Station.”

The institution’s graduate yearbook would later be reprinted including her father’s name among the graduating class of 1939.