Author Richard Hollander was devastated when his parents were killed in an automobile accident in 1986. While rummaging through their attic, he discovered letters from a family he never knew - his father's mother, three sisters, and their husbands and children. The letters, neatly stacked in a briefcase, were written from Krakow, Poland, between 1939 and 1942. They depict day-to-day life under the most extraordinary pain and stress, yet the family remained a caring, loving unit. At the same time, Richard's father, Joseph Hollander, was fighting the United States government to avoid deportation and death. The struggle over whether to deport Joseph involves such historic figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, senators, congressmen, federal agency heads, and judges. Richard was astounded to learn that his father saved the lives of many Polish Jews, but - despite heroic efforts - could not save his family.

Part I. Joseph's Story: Joseph Richard S. Hollander; Part II. Cracow: The fate of the Jews of Cracow under Nazi occupation Christopher R. Browning; Through the eyes of the oppressed Nechama Tec; Part III. The Letters: 1. Letters without reply: November 1939-May 1940; 2. Separation anxiety: May-August 1940; 3. Exit strategy: September-December 1940; 4. Familial love, penned: January-December 1941; Index.