An Unfinished Portrait by Myriam Frank

Excerpts of letters sent from Spain and France during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, reprinted as an appendix to a memoir by Miriam Frank (the letter-writer’s daughter).
The memoir woman’s journey to understand the life of her mother – a life of turmoil, transition and passion, set against the backdrop of mid-twentieth century Europe.
Through a selection of photographs, a series of journeys and her own memories, acclaimed memoirist Miriam Frank attempts to re-trace the path of her mother, Käte. German-born Käte was forced into a life of transience: leaving an increasingly right-wing Germany in the 1930s to find herself caught in the Spanish Civil War, escaping to Vichy France, and then to Mexico, New Zealand and finally England. As she navigated the horrors of twentieth-century Europe, at times fighting for her very survival, the only constant in her life was her small daughter, Miriam.