A housefire in 2011. The contents of a box that survives become the catalyst for a quest whose seeds were planted in 1983 – the day Linda Ambrus Broenniman learned that her Catholic father was Jewish and what little family history she knew was a lie. 

Searching for truth, Linda pieces together the astonishing story of her Jewish ancestors—the Politzer family—their remarkable lives lost to her father’s secrets.  From the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1700s to modern day Hungary and America, she finds her family: doctors and lawyers, entrepreneurs and industrialists, writers and musicians, artists and art collectors. She learns of their resilience in surviving religious persecution, wars, epidemics, and economic upheavals.

Among her discoveries is the revelation that her mother had collaborated to save her best friend and her family from deportation to Auschwitz, and in the process rescued a number of other Hungarian Jews, including the man who would become her husband.

Finding her roots brought Linda a new sense of who she is and a peace that now she can honor the memories of her family.  In helping Linda find her family, András Gyekiczki wrote, “I hardly know any non-fiction sagas to better exemplify Hungarian Jewish fate of the past 300 years as this Politzer story… All that fantastic talent and readiness to act for the birth of modern Hungary. All the suffering they went through...”

Illuminating the destructive power of hatred, dehumanization, and injustice, this powerful story encompasses issues that still echo today.

 Bethesda Communications Group

Linda Broenniman introduction

Linda Ambrus Broenniman grew up in Buffalo, New York as the middle of seven children. Her parents were Hungarian physicians who survived World War II and started their new life in the U.S. in 1949. A graduate of Swarthmore College with a BA in psychology, Linda went on to earn an MBA from Carnegie Mellon. Several years after graduation, she left mainstream corporate America to follow her own path as an entrepreneur, letting her passion for uncovering hidden potential in unexpected places guide her. It was this passion that fueled her search for her hidden family following an untimely incident that led to a stunning revelation. Linda lives in Great Falls, Virginia with Ed, her husband of 28 years, and their dog, Juno.