Spanning nearly ninety years and crossing oceans, When Time Stopped is a powerful and beautifully wrought memoir in which Ariana comes to know the family that has been lost – and, ultimately, her own beloved father. Having known nothing of her father's past, not even that he was Jewish, Ariana's detective work also leads to the shocking discovery that a total of twenty-five members of the Neumann family were murdered by the Nazis.

She follows him across Europe and reveals his astonishing choice to assume a fake identity and live out the war undercover, spying for the Allies in Berlin – deep in the 'darkest shadow'. Then, one day, she finds an old identity document bearing his picture – but someone else's name.įrom a box of papers her father leaves for her when he dies, Ariana meticulously uncovers the extraordinary truth of his escape from Nazi-occupied Prague. 'The darkest shadow is beneath the candle.'Īs a child in Venezuela, Ariana Neumann is fascinated by the enigma of her father, who appears to be the epitome of success and strength, but who wakes at night screaming in a language she doesn't recognise. In this remarkably moving memoir, Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father's past: years spent hiding in plain sight in wartorn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew. WINNER OF THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE Start Publishing Notes is wholly responsible for this content and is not associated with the original author in any way.KRAUS FAMILY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR AT THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS What follows is a spellbinding account of a family caught up in what is perhaps the worst evil of the last century, the lucky breaks and unfortunate endings it encountered, the scars that remained, and the attempts it made to heal and cope with the trauma.ĭisclaimer: This book is intended as a companion to, not a replacement for, When Time Stopped. The clues eventually led her to a decade-long, worldwide search for the missing pieces of a family history that key players were unwilling to talk about. In it, Ariana Neumann describes growing up in privilege in Caracas, Venezuela, and stumbling on clues that hinted at her father’s dark, secretive past.

When Time Stopped is a moving account of the Neumann family’s life before, during, and after the Holocaust. How the war changed the people who survived it.How the Neumann family weathered five years of persistent persecution by the Nazi regime.Easily digestible takeaways distilling the main ideas.What does this Start Publishing Notes summary, analysis, and review include? It was then that he had comprehended the importance of time. The turning wheels, ticking each second away, had reassured him. In this riveting memoir, Ariana Neumann digs through her family’s past to uncover a Holocaust story that is as thrilling as it is heart-wrenching. It was the first time that he had dismantled a mechanism. Please note: This is a summary, analysis, and review of the book and not the original book.

When time stopped by ariana neumann