La niña alemana

Inspired by a little-known event: the refusal of Cuba and other countries to receive the Jews fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the transatlantic liner St. Louis. Ultimately, only a few were allowed to disembark. Before everything changed, Hannah Rosenthal's life was a dream. But now, in 1939, the streets of Berlin are emblazoned with Nazi banners, her family has been dispossessed of their belongings, and Jews are no longer welcome in the places they once frequented. Hannah and Leo Martin, her best friend, make a pact: come what may, they will both share the same future. The upcoming departure of the transatlantic liner St. Louis bound for Cuba will provide them with a spark of hope. After arduous efforts to obtain visas, the Rosenthals and the Martins embark on the luxurious ship bound for Havana. Life aboard the St. Louis resembles a surreal vacation for these refugees, but disturbing rumors from Cuba soon darken the festive atmosphere, and the ship that promised to be their salvation seems about to become their death sentence. Hannah and Leo face a heartbreaking decision… Seven decades later, in New York City, on her twelfth birthday, Anna Rosen receives a package from Hannah, a great-aunt she never knew but who raised her deceased father. In an attempt to reconstruct her father's mysterious past, Anna and her mother travel to Havana to meet the elderly woman. Hannah will recount the journey on the St. Louis, tell them about her years on the island, and reveal, for the first time, how she and Leo fulfilled the solemn pact they sealed.

Inspired by a little-known event: the refusal of Cuba and other countries to receive the Jews fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the transatlantic liner St. Louis. Ultimately, only a few were allowed to disembark. Before everything changed, Hannah Rosenthal's life was a dream. But now, in 1939, the streets of Berlin are emblazoned with Nazi banners, her family has been dispossessed of their belongings, and Jews are no longer welcome in the places they once frequented. Hannah and Leo Martin, her best friend, make a pact: come what may, they will both share the same future. The upcoming departure of the transatlantic liner St. Louis bound for Cuba will provide them with a spark of hope. After arduous efforts to obtain visas, the Rosenthals and the Martins embark on the luxurious ship bound for Havana. Life aboard the St. Louis resembles a surreal vacation for these refugees, but disturbing rumors from Cuba soon darken the festive atmosphere, and the ship that promised to be their salvation seems about to become their death sentence. Hannah and Leo face a heartbreaking decision… Seven decades later, in New York City, on her twelfth birthday, Anna Rosen receives a package from Hannah, a great-aunt she never knew but who raised her deceased father. In an attempt to reconstruct her father's mysterious past, Anna and her mother travel to Havana to meet the elderly woman. Hannah will recount the journey on the St. Louis, tell them about her years on the island, and reveal, for the first time, how she and Leo fulfilled the solemn pact they sealed.