This cultural-historical book is the declaration of love for Berlin of a half-Jew who was born and grew up in a typical Berlin neighborhood. Now he lives in the United States, but his roots are still in Berlin. According to The Nuremberg Laws of 1936, he is a Mischling ersten Gradees, a half Jew, but is referred to by many Berliners as a Mampe Halb und Halb, a well-known bitter and herbal liqueur. The book depicts, among other things, life in a Berlin neighborhood with its language, its mixture of heart and snout; growing up with Jewish blood in his veins in the Third Reich; and living during the war and in the post-war era. Until 1945 the author¿s life vacillated between the twins Eros and Thanatos, but Eros was the stronger of the two.

My name is Gerd K. Schneider. I am over 92 years old, and I am legally blind. I lived in Berlin during the Holocaust, the Second World War, and the Russian invasion. I am a learned waiter, came to the US, published 17 books, and wrote over 100 articles. I have studied and worked as a professor of German for over 40 years at Syracuse University.