Summons to Berlin by Joanne Intrator ~ Spotlight and #Giveaway! #SummonsToBerlin @JoanneIntrator @shewritespress @GoSparkPoint

Summons to Berlin: Nazi Theft and A Daughter's Quest for Justice by Joanne Intrator

Biographies & Memoirs of Women, Nonfiction, 272 pages

Expected publication August 1, 2023 by She Writes Press

On his deathbed, Dr. Joanne Intrator’s father poses two unsettling questions:

“Are you tough enough? Do they know who you are?”

Joanne soon realizes that these haunting questions relate to a center-city Berlin building at 16 Wallstrasse that the Nazis ripped away from her family in 1938. But a decade is to pass before she will fully come to grasp why her father threw down the gauntlet as he did.

Repeatedly, Joanne’s restitution quest brings her into confrontation with yet another of her profound fears surrounding Germany and the Holocaust. Having to call on reserves of strength she’s unsure she possesses, the author leans into her professional command of psychiatry, often overcoming flabbergasting obstacles perniciously dumped in her path.

The depth and lucidity of psychological insight threaded throughout Summons to Berlin makes it an attention-grabbing standout among books on like topics. As a reader, you’ll come away delighted to know just who Dr. Joanne Intrator is. You’ll also finish the book cheering for her, because in the end, she proves far more than tough enough to satisfy her father’s unnerving final demands.

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Praise for Summons to Berlin

“Dr. Joanne Intrator has a powerhouse personality and a razor-sharp intellect. Her quest for restitution for one of the center-city Berlin properties that the Nazis stole from her family during the Holocaust is an inspiring saga of vindication and justice, and of one very determined woman prevailing against seemingly impossible odds.”—Dean Pitchford Academy Award and Golden Globe Award Winner

“Joanne Intrator's proposed Summons to Berlin is a real-life story that simply must be told. Intrator's perseverance in pursuing justice for her family—in the matter of a center-city Berlin property stolen during the Holocaust era -- is a model of courage and gumption for us all. Where an indifferent German bureaucracy expected Dr. Intrator to split the value of the property with an heiress of Nazis, and additionally wanted to sweep the Nazi history of the building under the rug, Intrator dug and dug and dug and then dragged that Nazi history out into the light of day. That she simultaneously was working on groundbreaking research into the brain structure of psychopaths -- work that relates directly to the complex mysteries of the Nazi phenomenon—guarantees that her unique story will be informed by equally unique insights. Joanne’s story is certain to appeal to readers who love when a strong woman pursues and achieves her goals.”—Kathrin Seitz, Writer and Producer 

“A courageous and determined daughter confronts the German government, seeking justice for her parents, who had been victims of Nazi racism and immorality. Joanne Intrator’s story is that of a woman who dares to confront those who would find security in silence, even as this “silence” is perpetuating the evil and immorality that her parents endured.”—Rabbi David Greenberg, Temple Sharaay Tefila, Bedford Corners, New York

“It took a lot of guts for Joanne Intrator to go to Berlin and fight for her family’s building. To think that through her fierce determination, Joanne managed to get uncovered that Nazi flags, and worse yet, one million yellow Jewish star patches were manufactured in her family’s building during the war.

I know that Joanne had to morph from being the dutiful daughter of German-Jewish refugees to become assertive in an environment that was totally disinterested, that is, when it wasn’t being downright obstructionist. She could have taken the easy way out and settled at the beginning, gotten some money and gone on with her life. But that has never been Joanne’s way. The same resolve that drove her to become a psychiatrist—years after graduating from Connecticut College—led her to seek justice in Berlin, and makes her a fine model for all women.

I am really looking forward to reading her book and hopefully, to seeing a film based on her story.”—Judy Licht, Television and Print Journalist

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About the author

Joanne Intrator’s life has been shaped by being the daughter of German Jewish refugees. Since childhood, she pondered why people perpetrate atrocities on their fellow human beings. After studying European history at Connecticut College, she received an MD from Columbia University and became a psychiatrist. She did a fellowship in Psychiatry and Law at Albert Einstein. Mentored by Dr. Robert Hare, she spearheaded the first brain imaging research on well-defined psychopaths, published in The Journal of Biological Psychiatry. 

Following her father’s death in 1993, she took it upon herself to fight for the restitution of a building in Berlin. Her journey has been the subject of news articles, television interviews, and museum exhibits. Joanne practices psychiatry in New York City. She has written for The Journal for The Study of Antisemitism, Ästhetik & Kommunikation (Berlin), Women Writers. Women(‘s) Books, and she writes a blog on psychopathy for Psychology Today.

Connect with Joanne

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Background information about Joanne's family

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