“In this poignant account of Vienna beginning in 1929, Eve Neuhaus paints a portrait of growing anti-Semitism through the eyes of a cadre of young people. With delicious detail, we can almost taste the pastries, hear the music, the poetry, march in their protest parades, hike in the Alps, play chess with them in the park. These young people are filled with hope and optimism and a vision of a free society. Little by little, we see an assassination attempt, falsified newspapers, book banning, rioting. Neuhaus has masterfully woven events of the day with the lives of these young people, so that the unthinkable rise of fascism and the Nazis becomes a cautionary tale for today. 

—Elie Axelroth, author of CROSS BODY LEAD

“Like the best historical fiction, Neuhaus's Red Vienna gives readers a glimpse of the real Red Vienna during the early 1930s as seen through the eyes of the mostly young people who inhabit the book. We are privvy to their youthful optimism, their fierce dedication to a cause, and their growing fears as signs of the brutality and oppression to come begin to show up in their beautiful city. As entertaining as it is informative, we recognize ourselves, our own hopes and fears, in the characters ... as well as in the very real events that mirror today's frightening rhetoric and pervasive violence. Read it for the joy of good story-telling, and for the powerful call to action that it compels.

—Susan Stewart, writer at Say It Write and Central Coast Journal

“I encourage all high schools and colleges to add this book to their highly recommended or required reading list! The characters and circumstances are well developed. They come alive on the page! This is an excellent teaching tool for an accurate representation of what did and can happen again AND for teaching writing skills as well.”

– Marcia Alter

“An engaging and intense tale that is uniquely significant for these times.”

— an Amazon reader

“Red Vienna is particularly strong in describing how fascism happens one incident at a time and each person is affected one day at a time, with no one knowing at any moment the over arching narrative that would perpetrate such horrors on the world. Is history repeating itself?”

— a Canadian reader

“In our rush towards the future, do we merely pay lip-service to learning from past mistakes and a willingness to change and to grow? It seems that generation after generation we repeat the same inhumane errors. With the alarming increase of antisemitism before and after October 7, we can pause and reconsider the history of Europe over the past 100 years. Has anything changed? Improved? Eve Neuhaus, consummate storyteller, shares her own family’s history and draws alarming parallels.”

— Heather Mendel, author of DANCING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF EVE

Two Suitcases recounts Gisi and Max's thrilling 1938 escape from the Nazis in Vienna. Red Vienna, Volume 1, belongs to the City of Vienna during the 1920s and early 30s when the city is idyllically governed by the socialists, who are achieving the seldom-realized dream of peace and relative equality of socialism. Nothing could be better for the young going forth in their ideal lives. Gisi and Max meet, pursue their studies, careers, and romance, enjoy the world's greatest coffee houses, while planning their lives, in camaraderie with their fellow city dwellers. 

But this life won't last.

By the end of Red Vienna, Gisi and Max will be killed unless they escape, which we know they will do, setting up their thrilling, heroic flight to France. 

— Andy Greensfelder, author of 21st CENTURY AFFAIRS

“Red Vienna allowed me to re-live my relatives’ actual experiences and truly brought home the emotional ramifications of losing control over almost every aspect of their lives. 

Eve’s deep understanding of human nature and her powerful writing makes this story hauntingly unforgettable. It is exactly what we owe these brave souls. Niemals Vergessen!!! ( Never forget!)”

— Elisabeth Weiss, fellow offspring of Viennese refugees and dog-trainer extraordinaire (DogRelations, NYC)

“As I watch the news unfold I am struck by the similarities between the days of Red Vienna and now.  While the US can’t really compare, the attitude is similar. Yet, as I read, I still get the feeling of youthful hope and optimism.  Even in the midst of adversity.  I’m going to read it again.”

— Barbara Bavido

“Red Vienna covers the last five years of the rule of the Social Democratic Workers Party in Austria. The book opens in 1929 at a time when the SDAP had proven highly successful in providing decent, modern housing, education and nourishment to the working poor. The story follows a group of dedicated young people, Jews and gentiles, working to make a dream of equality for all come true. Unfortunately, the threat posed by the growing Nazi movement and its policy of fanning the flames of anti semitisim are more evident as the story goes on.
I couldn’t put this book down. The story is full of real historical figures, vivid fictional characters and a story line that will make you as eager for the sequel as I am. A truly great read.”

— Linda C. Koenig

“Red Vienna is a good read that draws you into the characters' lives, but beyond that it tells the story of forces that sweep into the lives of all the characters, from idealistic socialism to the contagious spread of fascism. Only those individuals with the right combination of foresight, courage, preparation, perseverance and luck (such as the protagonists) are able to emerge from this deadly political disease. I have just returned from a trip to Berlin and Vienna, where fascist forces are emerging again ahead of upcoming elections, but at least in Europe people remember fascist devastation. How is it that so many in the United States seem oblivious to blatantly announced plans for a parallel dictatorship, this time focused on the elimination of immigrants and LGBTQ, with the consolidation of white male dominance and the avoidance of high taxes by the greedy who think they will be able to control the dictator - the same mistake made by German and Austrian politicians. Will we see the unfolding of the new Reich here in the US? This time there is no America that will come to save us!”

— Kathy Bornino, author of A LABYRINTH OF LIFETIMES

“For the week it took me to read Red Vienna, I lived with Gisi and Max, Anna and Emil, Hugo, Rolf, Gert, Toni and all the rest as they met and worked, laughed and loved, went to classes and ate pastries in coffee shops in their lovely city. I could smell the cooking, see the dust in the shops corners, hear the grandfather clock chiming at the wrong time, feel the hope and optimism in the beauty that once was Red Vienna. I had no idea that the SDAP government had created such a beautiful, fair, and just way of life for the city's working class residents. No wonder the characters were so drawn to protecting it. For one brief shining moment in one lovely European city, the hope of a better world for all us seemed possible.

This is such an important work and I do hope to read the rest of the story one day soon. The story so closely parallels what is happening now. So many of us have been stooped under layers of fear and helplessness as the hate and bigotry and its new laws chip away at all our hard won rights. It's a soul crushing time. Your book is a stunning reminder of how short a time ago it really was that the horrors of WW2 took place; and how easily it can all happen again. (is already happening).

But it's also a lovely testament to the power of hope and optimism, a reminder that a better, braver, happier time also existed once. It's so easy to be cynical (I speak for myself), to give up because it feels impossible to make any real change in a world that seems to be going backwards at an alarming pace. I hope for all of us that people like the characters in the book are among us now, fueling a movement of love, of meaningful work, of hope and equality that will get us back to a world that looks more like Red Vienna. Please write the next installment. I'll be watching for it. With great appreciation …”

—a California reader

“Red Vienna offers us a mirror in which we can look at our current world situation. By telling the stories of young adults in Vienna through their own eyes, Neuhaus offers the reader a very real and compelling tale of how their world changed very quickly when those in power chose to spread disinformation, fear, and hatred. In subtle ways she allows the reader to see the parallels to current times, indeed to all times when people have chosen fear of the other over love of each other.”

—Elizabeth Whitcomb

“Exactly what’s needed in these times !”

— Tom Neuhaus, Eve’s husband

“Riveting. This book is superb to sit on, and impossible to knock off the table.”

— Ella Bella, award-winning cat