Burning Leaves takes us to the heart of the Nazis' murderous assault on European Jewry and the long shadow it has cast since. Through conversations between descendants or relatives of the people caught up in these events, Bernard Marin brings them vividly to life. Some, like Albert Göring, are well-known; others, like the boy longing for freedom on the St Louis, are ordinary. Some events, such as Kristallnacht, are familiar; others, such as the Transfer Agreement, are not. Together they create a fresh and challenging account of a time of infamy.