The author, a native of Bratislava, a graduate of the Slovak Technical University (1957) with a doctorate from the Vienna Technical University (1968), lived in the United States since 1964 where he was involved in virology research. After the "velvet" revolution he visited his birthplace. This called forth an incentive to lift from the dust of forgetting the contributions of manifold cultural, artistic, scientific, enterprising, military, sport and other civic activities by former Bratislava burghers from an energetic community, uprooted from its indigenous milieu, displaced, crushed or permanently annihilated during the Holocaust. The author's kinship with the distinguished interwar architect, Imrich Spitzer (1904-1943), was a great impetus for writing the book: Assistance and collaboration by helpful individuals and institutions from Bratislava to New York played no mean role. The publication is not the work of a specialist in the presented topic; all the more notable is the comprehensiveness of the collected and published documents, of up to date and timely photographs, portraits, reproductions of artworks and projects, and background data. They illustrate the fate and activities of about a dozen Bratislava architects, about the same number of artists, and tens of other professions. The book has been written and published in English. Regarding Slovak names, the Slovak diacritics have been mostly correctly maintained.
"Revue Pamiatky a Muzea", Bratislava, April 2011
Mary H. Urban
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pre WWII facts about grandparents heritage

January 30, 2012
Verified Purchase
This photo archive and history lesson is indispensable for anyone interesting in their pre WWII roots in what was Austria-Hungary. Not the usual genealogical actuary tables - it is more personalized by the photos and facts. I recall my grandfather talking about Austria-Hungary, but the rest of our descendants tell me that the family was Czech. Bratislava Pressburg Pozsony: Jewish Secular Endeavors (1867-1938)helped me see that there were many Jewish contributions to the area, thus opening the possibility that our Czech great grandparents may have been part of that history instead of the Catholic tradition followed by my cousins, (which was not personally revealed to us until now). This edition provided another link to our heritage. Having become acquainted with the author several years ago, I cannot pretend to offer an unbiased review of his book. I can only say that I found reading it to be rewarding.
As the title indicates, the author focuses on "Jewish secular endeavors" in the capital of Slovakia, now generally known as Bratislava, but also known as Pressburg or as Pozsony to its German and Hungarian populations. Almost half the book is devoted to accomplishments by members of the Jewish community in the field of architecture, with the remainder devoted to accomplishments in a wide range of other fields, including (for example) painting, sculpture, science, medicine, philanthropy and commerce.
The author provides photographs of the people whose endeavors are featured, along with photographs or drawings to illustrate their accomplishments. His brief description of each person's life often concludes with "perished in the holocaust," thus providing a
somber reminder, if one is needed, of the fact that one's contribution to society meant nothing to those who were intent on eradicating the Jews.
I suspect that most people who are interested in the history of Bratislava -- or in the history of Slovakia generally -- will find this book to be a unique and valuable source of information.

Review by Bob Goldfarb
Eastern Europe between the world wars may be imagined as the last preserve of traditional shtetl life, but many Jews there worked in the professions and lived assimilated lives in large cities. A case in point is the present-day capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, where the scientist A. Robert Neurath was born in 1933. As a labor of love he has assembled a kind of scrapbook that brings the streets and personalities of the
city back to life.
The wonderful photographs that dominate almost every page reveal a profusion of Bauhaus architecture, much of it designed by Jews. The streetscapes show a vigorous urban life amid eye-pleasing commercial and public buildings, and the suburban villas exude comfort and elegance. Thumbnail biographies of the now-forgotten architects and
a street-by-street walking tour of Jewish businesses provide helpful context.
There are also brief accounts of the lives of prominent Jewish businessmen, doctors, and artists, with dozens of images of artworks as well. Taken together these form a picture of a world much like our own. Chillingly, this volume also includes a photograph of Adolf Hitler viewing Bratislava through a telescope from a boat in the Danube. It was taken two days after the establishment of the Nazi-ruled “Slovak Republic” on March 14,
1939, when this world came abruptly to an end. ( )