Paul and Paula: A Story of Separation, Survival and Belonging

by Tim McNamara

‘In fifty years … nobody will then know anything about our troubles.’ 1939: Paul Kurz – engineer, refugee from Vienna and Dunera Boy – is separated from his wife, Paula, and his mother at the outbreak of World War II and interned in Australia. Late 1960 an Australian student from an Irish Catholic family railing against his father, struggling with his religious upbringing and coming to terms with his sexuality strikes up a profound friendship with Paul, two generations older. Decades after Paul’s death, he pieces together Paul’s incredible story from surviving family letters, and travels to Vienna to discover Paul’s history and that of the city – its beauty, its violence, its cruelty, what Paul loved and how he suffered there. The letters reveal Paul’s heartbreaking separation from Paula, his life in exile in England and Australia, his desperate attempts to reconnect with his wife and the eventual fateful outcome. This lyrical, poignant account combines memoir, biography and history to explore the enduring influence of one elderly Holocaust survivor and the intergenerational impact of the famed Dunera.

288 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2024

About the author

Tim McNamara is Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

[Liz]

Thanks to a friendship and an old pile of letters, the author has written a well researched book. The letters combined with excellent research and other people's reminiscences highlight the personal experiences of Paula and her Jewish family in Vienna, Austria in the time leading up to and during the War.

Although bit dry at times. The "love story" between Paul and Paula is not so much apparent but they were separated due to Paula's loyalty and love for her own family. The second half of the book is much more affecting as the Jewish community are brutally removed from Vienna. I would have liked to have learned more about life in Australia after the war.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who doesn't understand the historical need for a Jewish State of Israel... written lovingly and with deep, personal research by my dearest friend, Tim McNamara, and published just after his death this year. It combines his own story with that of his friend and mentor, Paul Kurz, a refugee from Vienna who settled in Melbourne. It has been a "permanently unfolding gift" (Tim's phrase capturing Paul's influence, story, and friendship; as well as my ongoing love and admiration for Tim).