About the Book
Ledicia’s Key, Yvette Nachmias-Baeu’s fourth book, is a genealogical puzzle that pieces clues and follows generations of a family from the Spanish Inquisition to present-day New England. The author reaches backwards and forwards through history to highlight descendants from Generals to artists, from nobility to shopkeepers. Here is a symphony of diverse humanity, of love and war, and not always harmonious - played out in the sharps and flats of personal triumphs and political tragedies.
Encounter ancestors brutally forced from their homeland during the Spanish Inquisition; a great grandfather whose bravery prevented a city from being enveloped in flames; an uncle summoned by a king to negotiate Bulgarian neutrality during a war; and a family who escaped the ravages of history’s madman to flee Nazi genocide as refugees seeking safety in Austria – with all her vignettes wrapped and culminating in a modern-day love story.
Always as we follow the trail of the family, Baeu reminds us of a compelling if hard-won intergenerational truth: that ancestry is more than a DNA test and more than a family tree. It is the prevention of amnesia and the preservation of hard-won wisdom.
Excerpt
December, 1940
22 Krakra St.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Frightened by the threat of war and caught-up in Europe’s rising hatred towards Jews, Jacob, Sultana and their two children hurriedly walk out of their building’s front door carrying four suitcases for the hazardous journey that will take them to America. They dare not contemplate what this will mean. Are they leaving temporarily or forever? While this is not the time to think about that, it is hard to avoid. They only know they cannot stay. Sultana’s aging mother refuses to leave and her sister, Flor, has no intention of going anywhere. Sultana is thankful that they will be together, but frightened that they might be in danger and that this may be the last time she ever sees them.
There haven’t yet been bombing raids in the country, but the climate around the capital is tense. When Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with Nazi Germany and the Axis powers, it should have been a warning to Jews that they might be in danger. Rebekah’s uncle Ascher had already emigrated to America, fearing what was likely to happen and suggested, a year ago, that it was not safe to stay in Europe. Jacob took his brother’s warning seriously and begins preparations to leave the country. Because of his financial position, he is able to make travel arrangements, First, he transfers money to Ascher’s bank in American and exchanges enough lira for their trip. He applies for visas and passports. The last thing he does is buy crosses for his children and Sultana. He then has his daughters baptized in the Congregational Church. But they leave all their furnishings, rugs and painting, hoping they will be able to retrieve them one day. After many weeks, the final arrangements have been made.
Ripples of anti-Semitism begin to impact them. Even Minka, always a faithful and loving nanny to Rebekah and her older sister Reva, seems to be sympathizing with the Germans. Some of her nuanced remarks worry Sultana, who wonders if this simple country woman, always an integral part of her family, has fallen victim to the current propaganda. Tension around the house is palpable. Sultana must have a talk with Minka. Sitting her down over a cup of tea while the children take their nap, the room bright with the afternoon sun, the specter of what may come, still not clear, she asks Minka directly if she no longer wishes to work for a Jewish family. Confronting the question, Minka at first protests, then she breaks down, ashamed of her betrayal, and begins to cry. It is clear that she’s allowed herself to be influenced by her neighbors. She promises to remain loyal to the Avraham family. Nothing more is said during the next weeks, while the family, prepares for the trip that will take them to America.
On the morning of their departure, Minka helps the family by carrying the luggage downstairs to the building’s foyer. Returning to the apartment, she wipes her eyes from time to time to brush away tears that threaten to escape. Sultana comes up beside her holding a large box.
“Minka, this is for you.” Minka’s blinks and screws up her face, taking on a questioning look. She hesitates to take the box.
“Please take it. It’s my wedding gown.”
Minka opens the box slowly and strokes the beautiful crepe silk. She never owned anything so luxurious. It takes a moment before she is able to speak. Then in a hoarse whisper, manages to say, “Thank you, Madame Sultana, it’s beautiful.”
“Perhaps you will wear it when you get married. Maybe it will remind
you of us. I know we will not forget you."