History remembers how it ended.
This is the story of the choices that came before.
Based on a true story of ordinary people
shaped by impossible choices
What would you do if the world around you slowly stopped making sense?
As neighbors changed, freedoms disappeared, and hatred became ordinary, one German-Jewish family confronted choices no one should ever have to make. Before history reached its darkest chapter, every choice carried consequences no one could yet imagine.
I didn't set out to write a novel. I wanted to better understand my German-Jewish family's experience during the rise of Nazism and preserve their story. What began as a personal search became years of research across Germany and ultimately uncovered a story that had nearly been forgotten. Along the way, I realized I wasn't just discovering my family's history. I was discovering how ordinary people confronted impossible choices as hatred gradually reshaped the world around them. That journey became The Last to Leave. My hope is that by bringing one family's experience to life, readers will not only remember history—but recognize why its lessons matter today.” Right under that I’d like to include a quote in large italic type centered like a pull quote “I thought I was searching for my family’s past. I discovered a story with lessons that belong to all of us.