From the Publisher
In 1958, faced with the inability to bear children, Marion and John Wolff return to Germany in search of a child to adopt. Only nineteen years earlier they had fled the country to escape the Final Solution of the Jewish problem, and memories of their youth under the Nazi regime were still very vivid.
As the Wolffs traveled from town to town, visiting welfare agencies and inspecting orphanages, they encountered bureaucratic hurdles, childrens homes that varied greatly in their philosophies of child rearing, and Germans who labeled them foreigners. Everywhere they saw reminders of the Holocaust: railroad stations, cattle cars, the absence of Jewish names in telephone books. They detected no trace of Jewish life in many places where Jewish culture had flourished for centuries.
They found, however, four officials who saw in the Jewish couples quest an opportunity to make amends for the past. Through dramatic coincidences they found Rebecca, the little girl they took home to the United States as their own.
The Expanding Circle is based on diaries and careful historical research. A list of sources, several photographs, and an epilogue are included.
A clear, understated style masks the emotional, suspenseful story. The Expanding Circle is suitable for teenage readers and anyone interested in adoption and Judaica.
From the Inside Flap
As the Wolffs travel from town to town visiting orphanages, they encounter bureaucratic hurdles, children's homes that vary greatly in their philosophies of child rearing, and Germans who label them "foreigners." They detect no trace of Jewish life in places where Jewish culture flourished for centuries.
They find however, four officials who see in the Jewish couple's quest an opportunity to make amends for the past. Through dramatic coincidences they find Rebecca, the little girl they take home to the United States as their own. "In adopting we replace gametes with a gamut of agencies, and this remarkable book shows the process to be both more absurd and more noble than biological parenthood. Marion Wolff's clear, understated style conveys the tension and drudgery, the excitement and joy, of a Jewish refugee couple returning to 'work the system' in their native Germany and bring a baby home. Their story proves that love and will can sometimes bring miracles out of institutions." --E. James Lieberman, M.D. Psychiatrist and author of Acts of Will: The Life and Work of Otto Rank "In an ever-growing market of personal reminiscence books on adoption, Marion Wolff's The Expanding Circle stands out with some important new insights. What she has done--and to my knowledge it is a singular attempt--is to tell two stories of migration in one. I found it very moving, especially with its mix of history about our German-Jewish past." --Dr. H. David Kirk, professor of sociology, University of Victoria
