Secrets of a Suitcase: The Countess, the Nazis, and Middle Europe's Lost Nobility

When Pauline Terreehorst bid for a vintage Gucci suitcase at Sotheby's Amsterdam, she had no idea what was inside. After picking up her prize, she found that the case was filled with dresses, fur collars and lace voiles, and accompanied by two brown boxes of postcard albums showing churches and castles in Austria, France, England and Scotland. This curious correspondence was addressed to an Austrian countess, businesswoman and philanthropist called Margarethe Szapry, and her daughter. These unexpected family treasures open a window onto a lost world. The Szaprys' social, cultural and political landscape disappeared in the upheavals that seized Europe during the first half of the twentieth century a time when borders were redrawn, old cities received new names, communities changed loyalties, and the transnational, monarchist aristocrats of Middle Europe had to decide whether to become Germans under Nazi rule. What did Margarethe choose, when her neighbour Hermann Gring came knocking? What were the consequences for her and her children? And how did her family's suitcase cross war-torn Europe and survive decades of rupture to end up in Terreehorst's hands?

About the Author :
Pauline Terreehorst is an essayist and former director of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Utrecht's Centraal Museum, and Eindhoven's Natlab film theatre. Known for her fashion articles and film and photography columns in de Volkskrant, she has helped develop scenarios for the future of living and working for government and business.

Review :
‘From the intimate belongings of an unknown aristocrat, Terreehorst builds a richly detailed picture of life as it was lived in Middle Europe’s castles, before vanishing for ever in the turbulence of two World Wars.’ 'Terreehorst's instinct for well-chosen details keeps the story engaging, and she strikes an admirable balance between the texture of the characters' immediate surroundings and the broader arcs of social and political change. While her knowledge of design shines in descriptions of fin-de-siècle mantelpieces and extravagant carved beds, her engrossing history of the development of industrial mining in Silesia displays the book's depth of research.' 'Terreehorst's prose is light and readable ... propulsive.' 'A vivid picture of aristocratic life in prewar central Europe. . . provides a reminder of the scale of Nazi plunder, not just from Jewish owners but from museums, galleries and art dealerships across occupied Europe. . . Readers interested in the dying days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will find much to enjoy here.' 'An impressive, multi-faceted historical narrative.' 'A fascinating account of Margarethe Szapary’s life and chronicle of Central Europe.' 'Fascinating, accessible, and worth the read.' 'Margarethe emerges from Terreehorst's account as a formidable figure of endurance.'  'From one suitcase, Terreehorst unpacks the lost world of Central Europe's old aristocracy in all its brittle splendour. Her lens is never still, focussing on individual lives, then panning out to the fall of empires, the rise of Nazism, and the aftermath. Microhistory at its most vivid and instructive.' ‘This is more than the colourful story of one family. It raises fascinating questions about the importance of objects, our relationship to them, and their poignant relationship to memory.’ 'A fascinating and important study about the controversial role of aristocracy in the upheavals of Central Europe, from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to the Third Reich.' 'A compelling biography of an influential family gradually ensnared by the Nazis.'