Anne Hand is the author of the new memoir Austrian Again: Reclaiming a Lost Legacy. It focuses on her family's history. She is an expert in global education and development.
Q: What inspired you to write this memoir?
A: Austrian Again started as a very personal project. In late August 2020, I read about Austria’s new citizenship restoration policy for descendants of victims of Nazism and Austrofascism going into effect that September.
From October through December 2020, I was reviewing family material that my mother had inherited from her aunt and learning how to do basic family research on a few genealogy websites, to bolster our application. It was during the Covid-19 pandemic, and I’d just finished a long-term contract, so I had extra time to do all this.
I started writing to process what I found out about my family background, particularly things that didn’t completely align with the stories I’d been told as a child.
At a certain point, it turned into a different project. I realized I was going through a unique experience of reparations through undertaking this process and wanted to continue documenting it for future generations--not just for my family, but for history
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Austrian Again, as a phrase, is self-explanatory. The title tells you what the book is about. It is about my family’s journey being forced to leave Austria, first because of economic necessity, and then because of racist persecution.
They left behind much of their Austrian identity, and lost their Austrian citizenship, but retained a certain nostalgia and comfort with many things about Austrian culture.
When today’s Austrian government opened the door for their descendants to reclaim this identity, it represented a huge step forward toward reconciliation and a historical reckoning with a very dark part of Austria’s history that it had tried to avoid directly facing for many years.
But what does it mean to be something “again” when you never considered yourself like that in the first place? How do you honor a family legacy that your ancestors pushed aside, especially when you do not know what they would think about this olive branch? These are the questions that I try to answer in the book.
Q: The scholar Timothy J. Nelson called the book a “beautifully crafted meditation on family legacy, hidden trauma and the promise of America.” What do you think of that description?
A: I really like that description. Tim is a very sensitive and perceptive scholar, and I think his comment gets at the emotional crux of what the book is about.
I was glad when he agreed to read an advance copy of the book, and surprised and happy when he told me he’d shared it with some friends and family he thought would appreciate it.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write this memoir, and what do you hope people take away from it?
A: Writing Austrian Again gave me permission to learn from my ancestors and grow. One thing is to hear stories people want to share with you as a child, but another is to return to an objective and historical record of “what happened” to people who loved and cared about you, and who you loved and cared about in return.
I hope that my great-grandmother and grandfather, who are the reason I wrote this book, would be happy with it. I hope they would be proud of what it’s saying and how it honors them and what they experienced.
This is an extremely personal story, but the last section of the book draws from what I have seen over 15 years working in international development and international education to try and universalize what I can of my experience.
Globalization has made migration seem more accessible, but I would argue that barriers to entry usually are much higher now, even when people are experiencing persecution. The complexities and difficulties of migration and immigration are rarely directly addressed.
So, in that sense, I hope that this book resonates with anyone whose family has been displaced or suffered persecution and is looking to find some kind of resolution.
I also hope that it inspires people to research their family stories and try and understand what their ancestors experienced, particularly with family stories of immigration. Beyond the broad scopes of what country people came from, we lose many of the details of these stories after only one or two generations.
I think, for all of us, no matter our ethnic background, learning more about our family stories and trajectories over time gives us empathy. Our world could use a lot more empathy.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Promoting the book! I have in-person events scheduled in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks, and webinars with great organizations like 3GNY. Follow me on X or LinkedIn for event details.
We’re working on scheduling New York City, and I hope to be in Vienna to talk with people about Austrian Again next spring.
I’ve always been interested in globalization and the identities we choose for ourselves, particularly when we’re in new situations where other people don’t know, or don’t care, about what we’re leaving behind. I’m starting to frame these ideas a bit more clearly for my next book.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: One of the most unexpectedly gratifying parts of my experience as the author of Austrian Again is getting to talk to people about their own families and their stories. It’s very humbling for people to open up like that because of something I’ve shared.
I’m excited for Austrian Again to be out in the world more broadly. I hope it touches people and helps them be thoughtful about their own pasts, presents, and futures.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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