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Reviewed by Frank Mutuma for Readers' Favorite
In Urban Nomad, a memoir by Freddie Kelvin, Freddie traces his roots and takes us through his life's journey. His father was born in Vienna before the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire. The family owned a successful shoemaking business. A lot of events shaped the family's legacy, including the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the rise of Nazism, and the Second World War. The takeover by the Nazis meant endless persecution and losing everything they owned. Luckily, the family escaped to Leeds, England. The loss of his mother and living in a highly conservative Jewish community when his father was not particularly religious are also some of the things that shaped Freddie.
Urban Nomad by Freddie Kelvin provided an angle I never knew existed from the history I studied in school. For instance, I didn't know about the role of Austria in the persecution of the Jews, which started immediately after the occupation. Another thing that caught my eye in this memoir was the role of the Catholic Church in the events before and during the Second World War. For example, Ante Pavelic used clerical passports to escape to Argentina. I will also have to read more about the concordat signed by Pope Pius XII. In England, while attending medical school, Freddie had to change his name to avoid being discriminated against. The world has come a long way in fighting prejudices, but this thought-provoking memoir has shown me that we cannot drop our guard. I look forward to reading something else by this author.
