When Cynthia Crane was a child, her father never told her the horrors of repeatedly being beaten in front of classmates as a child in Nazi Germany. He never told his daughter hed been considered a Mischlinge or half-breed, somewhere between man and ape because one of his parents had Jewish blood. Or that hed changed his name from Cohn to Crane when he was 25 years old in a bid to eliminate any discrimination against him years after his family had fled to the United States. Discovering her fathers past was heartbreaking for Crane, whose paternal grandmother through the years leaked out in whispers stories about the familys struggle, Crane writes in her book, Divided Lives, which chronicles the stories of Jewish-Christian women in Nazi Germany and will be featured this weekend during Southern Kentucky Festival of Books. The stories and the fact that Cranes grandmother confessed that she had written an unpublished book about the horrors of persecution partly inspired Crane to write Divided Lives. That was sort of the inspiration, Crane said, adding that she initially began learning more about her familys struggles by trying to help her grandmother get her book published. More than anything, Crane said she decided to write the book because she wanted to document the history of the Mischlinges – people like her father who really never had considered themselves Jewish until the Nuremberg laws meant anyone with Jewish blood in Germany was considered less than human people who often are forgotten when those persecuted by the Nazis are remembered. I think the real key to the book is a lot about secrecy, Crane said. People dont talk about their history. Especially when that history is painful. Now, I think (my father feels) sort of cleansed, she said, adding that her father recently spoke about his past on C-SPAN, which featured Cranes book and an interview with her. But for years, speaking of the torture that found Cranes part-Jewish grandfather fleeing to the United States before the rest of the family could come the torture that found Cranes Aryan grandmother fighting for the lives of her husbands relatives while she stayed behind was too much for Cranes father to bear. He can take a little now, Crane said. Still, he doesnt say much. Last week, Crane spoke about her book to a library board in Hamilton, Ohio, where her father has lived for much of his life, and many of her fathers friends who attended didnt know he had suffered persecution in Germany. There were people whod known my father for 30 years and didnt know any of this about him, she said. Crane hopes Divided Lives will bring awareness to the plight of the Mischlinge, before those who were persecuted all die. Theyre dying out, she said. Luckily, the Nazis are, too. Crane details the stories of several Mischlinge women in their own words in the book. She traveled to Germany to do her research and interviews. Crane chose to tell the stories of women because they often are overlooked in society, she said. I guess Im interested in womens voices, she said. Historically, their voices arent (heard).While Divided Lives does contain many sad tales of people who were persecuted because of Adolf Hitlers hatred, Crane said the book isnt depressing. I dont want readers to think that its just a tragic, depressing book, she said. I think you can learn a lot from it and its about hope and survival. Its uplifting, and I think thats important. Crane said she thinks most people will relate to the book. Its really about all emotions in all of us, she said. Cynthia Crane is an assistant professor of English at University of Cincinnatis Raymond Walters campus.