The Hare With Amber Eyes

Throughout The Hare with Amber Eyes, the author exposes how wealth and cultural refinement could never fully shield his Jewish ancestors from antisemitism. By tracing the rise and fall of the Ephrussis from their banking empire in 19th-century Europe to their forced displacement under Nazi persecution, de Waal explores how exile and loss shaped his ancestors’ lives as much as belonging and success. His narrative highlights the illusion of security that wealth and social integration promise, and how quickly cosmopolitan ideals can dissolve in the face of political violence and hatred.

The Ephrussi family’s story began triumphantly, as they expanded from their humble wheat trading origins in Odessa to become one of the 19th century’s most powerful Jewish banking dynasties. Their grand residences (the Hôtel Ephrussi in Paris and the Palais Ephrussi in Vienna) reflected both affluence and cultural integration. Meanwhile, the family embraced the cosmopolitan ideals of the age, obscuring their Russian roots as they raised children fluent in European languages and changed the spelling of their name. Another way they demonstrated their allegiance to their new nations was through financial investment, such as Viktor’s purchase of Austrian war bonds. However, de Waal shows that this assimilation was conditional and fragile.