September 2025

I, like many of you, have read my fair share of fiction about World War II. What my historical education lacks is what happened after the war. I am not naïve. I did not think that people left the concentration camps, bought new clothes, and had a few good meals to celebrate their liberation. But I also was not sure how their stories would unfold. THE LOST BAKER OF VIENNA gave me the chance to see how one fictional family navigated the weeks and months after their release.

The book has its history rooted in stories that Sharon Kurtzman’s mother shared with her of how her family survived after the fighting ended. They lived in Vienna, a city that was controlled by four different countries (I did not know this) and where violence still sprang up, food was scarce, and the black market was in full operation.

The book opens in 2018 as Zoe Rosenzweig is dealing with the loss of her beloved grandfather, Aron. He was a Holocaust survivor who had shared little of what happened during those horrendous years. Part of the story is told from her point of view as she tries to cobble together the history of her family, beyond knowing that her parents were killed in a car accident when she was young.

The alternating chapters are told from the perspective of Aron’s sister, Chana Rosenzweig. They show the family in Austria as they try to find accommodations and work after being released from a camp. They are feeling a sense of freedom, but there also is a tremendous sense of the unknown. Traveling around the city is not safe, and Chana, her mother and her brother live in one room and work in a hotel kitchen. As a result of where they are employed, their meals are better than most. But Chana finds herself missing the sweetness she had in her life when she would be baking with her father, who was killed in a camp. So she sneaks out in the evening to bake in the hotel with an apprentice baker.

Safety is what people are looking for --- and that can be brought to a family if they allow themselves to be taken care of by one of the men who are currying favor via the black market. Chana finds herself caught up in a love triangle, with her possible suitors being the young baker and the black-market dealer. What choice does she make? I will leave that for you to read about.

There also is a mystery woven into the story of what becomes of Chana and how that will unfold for Zoe. The accomplishment of this debut makes me wonder what Sharon will write next. You will want to keep an eye on her career! In the meantime, be sure to watch or listen to my interview with her.