Restitution

A family's fight for their heritage lost in the Holocaust

Europe, on the eve of the Second World War, and a Jewish family feels the Nazi danger closing in

Led by their indomitable mother, Marie, the Reesers make a daring escape from under the watchful eyes of the Gestapo, fleeing their comfortable home in Czechoslovakia to safety and a new life in Canada. Their lives are saved, but all else is lost, including four beautiful and valuable paintings that Marie loved. In all the years that follow, she never gives up hope that they will be found and returned, symbols of their vanished world.

The search to reclaim these pieces of their lost legacy spans more than fifty years of war and political upheaval. Marie and her son Karl would face Nazis and Communists, prejudice and corruption, before enlisting the help of two unlikely saviors – a brave Canadian diplomat and an honest smuggler – in the struggle for their return.

The true story of four paintings and one family’s enduring spirit

About the Author

Kathy Kacer

Kathy has won many awards for her writing, including the Silver Birch, the Red Maple, the Hackmatack and the Jewish Book Award. In 1999 she wrote her first book in Second Story’s Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers, The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser. Since then she has penned five other books for the series: The Underground Reporters, Clara’s War, The Night Spies, Hiding Edith, and The Diary of Laura’s Twin. Her first adult book is the non-fiction Restitution: A family’s fight for their heritage lost in the Holocaust.

The rights to her books have been sold to many countries, including Germany, China, Italy, Thailand, England, Japan, and Slovenia. She has adapted The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser into a successful play.

A former psychologist who worked with troubled teens, Kathy now writes about the Holocaust for young readers and travels the country speaking about it. She also addresses adults about how to teach sensitive material to young children. Kathy lives in Toronto with her family.