 As a girl growing up in Ohio , Cynthia Crane suspected that there was something mysterious in her family's past. Cryptic conversations between her father and grandparents made her curious about what secrets were being hidden. She could discern the word "Nazi," but it was not until years later that she understood what it had to do with the people she loved. Today Dr. Crane is recognized as a leading expert on Mischlinge, the so-called "half-breed" children who were persecuted by Hitler because of their families' mixed religious heritage. Although most were Christian, they were classified as Jewish, and were persecuted under Hitler's Nuremberg Laws. It is a subject about which little was written prior to Dr. Crane's thought-provoking book Divided Lives: The Untold Stories of Jewish-Christian Women in Nazi Germany. It is also a subject of great personal interest to Dr. Crane, as she eventually learned that her own father was a Mischlinge who had fled Germany as a child. Dr. Crane is an assistant professor of English at the University of Cincinnati . She has a Ph.D. in English and Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Cincinnati , an M.A. from Xavier University , and a B.A. from Wittenberg University . She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious J. William Fulbright Scholarship and a P.E.O. National Scholar's Award. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in various publications. When not in the classroom, Dr. Crane is a frequent guest speaker at venues ranging from churches and synagogues, to colleges and Holocaust conferences. She has appeared on C-Span's Book TV, and has lectured at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington , DC . She has also been interviewed on such national radio programs as Doug Stephan's Good Day USA, and Daybreak USA on the USA Radio Network. Although Divided Lives deals primarily with women's lives and Germany , it also raises issues about identity, trauma, and strength of spirit. It is also relevant to many contemporary issues in the United States . Dr. Crane can tailor her presentation to many kinds of audiences, using her extensive research and knowledge as a foundation to discuss topics ranging from modern mixed marriages and families, to women and minority issues, to the media and propaganda.
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