Joanne Intrator was born and raised in New York City by parents who were both refugees from Hitler’s Germany. Motivated to help others, she decided as an adult that she wanted to go into medicine. After becoming a psychiatrist, she conducted groundbreaking research on brain imaging of psychopaths. The associated paper, frequently cited, was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. She went on to teach a popular course on psychopaths in movies at the New School for Social Research, and to become a longtime contributor of book and movie reviews to The Journal for the Study of Antisemitism. Her blog, located at JoanneIntrator.com, regularly features interviews with prominent writers and other figures. Joanne lives in New York City.

“Are you tough enough yet and do they know who you are?” This question from Joanne Intrator’s father—posed to her while he is on his deathbed—is the spark that lights a fire under Joanne to seek restitution for property stolen from her German Jewish family by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Intellectually, she finds the challenge deeply appealing—she’s always been fascinated with Nazi-era history. But she has also harbored profound and longstanding fears of anything and everything German all her life. Is she up to this task?

Joanne decides that she is, and over the nearly a decade that follows, she pursues justice for her family, traveling back and forth between New York and Berlin. As she gradually realizes that her German lawyers aren’t advocating for her as they should, she draws on her training as a psychiatrist focused on abnormal behavior to consider Germany’s situation before and after World War II and how it has shaped its citizens—including her attorneys. Through this lens she also considers her own damaged childhood, and that of her parents. But it’s not until she hires a private investigator to assist her in her quest that she begins to get some real answers—about the past and the present. Part mystery and part poignant personal journey, packed with twists and turns, Summons to Berlin is an insightful and, ultimately, deeply satisfying tale of one woman’s pursuit of truth and justice.