This cultural-historical book is the declaration of love for Berlin of a
half-Jew who was born and grew up in a typical Berlin neighborhood. Now
he lives in the United States, but his roots are still in Berlin.
According to The Nuremberg Laws of 1936, he is a Mischling ersten
Gradees, a half Jew, but is referred to by many Berliners as a Mampe
Halb und Halb, a well-known bitter and herbal liqueur. The book depicts,
among other things, life in a Berlin neighborhood with its language, its
mixture of heart and snout; growing up with Jewish blood in his veins in
the Third Reich; and living during the war and in the post-war era.
Until 1945 the author's life vacillated between the twins Eros and
Thanatos, but Eros was the stronger of the two.