We Were Europeans vividly captures the experiences of a prominent Jewish family as the events of the twentieth century overturned their settled existence and scattered them across the globe. From a fully emancipated, comfortable life in pre-Hitler Germany to the horror of Kristallnacht, the book describes a last-minute escape from the Holocaust by the children on the Kindertransport and by the parents via Siberia, followed by life on three continents. Included are excerpts from several historical diaries, including a personal diary written on the German front lines during World War I; a young girl’s diary begun in Germany by the author’s sister in the 1930s, continued in England and ending in colorful Ecuador where the family found temporary refuge; and extracts from a diary kept by the head of the Jewish community of Bamberg. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, this personal history of triumph despite persecution is a microcosm of the fate of the Jewish people.