What if your entire identity changed with one revelation? What if everything you believed about your family’s past—its values, traditions, and history—was based on a secret? That’s exactly what happened to Linda Broenniman, who, at the age of 27, discovered a family truth that would launch her into an extraordinary journey spanning eight generations, a house fire, a forgotten box, and a Holocaust history buried deep within layers of silence.
In this deeply inspiring episode of Living Ageless and Bold, host Christina Daves sits down with Linda to uncover how one woman’s curiosity, persistence, and compassion led her to piece together a 300-year-old Hungarian Jewish family history—one that had been locked away through trauma, fear, and generational silence. The result? A memoir titled The Pulitzer Saga, and a permanent exhibit in Budapest honoring her family’s remarkable resilience.
Let’s explore Linda’s powerful journey of self-discovery, historical detective work, and healing.
A “Typical” Upbringing… With Missing Pieces
Linda grew up in a bustling home in Buffalo, New York—one of seven children in what she thought was a typical Catholic immigrant family. Her parents had come to America after the Second World War, escaping Hungary in 1949. Her grandmothers, who had joined them after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, lived with them but never talked about the past.
What stood out in hindsight was the absence of grandfathers—and the absence of stories. “It was like I didn’t have a history,” Linda reflects. But as a child, she accepted it. That all changed when her sister—a doctor—asked their godmother in Montreal a seemingly harmless question about their great-grandmother Margit. The reply? “Like most Jewish women, she was kind and gentle, but she ruled the roost.” That one sentence shattered the illusion and opened a door Linda couldn’t close.
The Secret That Couldn’t Stay Buried
The news spread through the family quickly: their father was Jewish. Linda, in disbelief, confronted her mother, who confirmed it quietly but carefully. Her father, on the other hand, denied it until his dying day. The silence wasn’t just denial; it was a shield formed through trauma.
Her father had been conscripted into a Nazi labor camp during the war and barely escaped death when the camp was bombed. He and five other men survived, only to be captured and escape again, twice. Her mother, a Catholic, had risked her life hiding Jews and was later recognized by the Israeli government as Righteous Among the Nations, an honor given to non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Only around 20,000 people in the world have received that distinction.
Yet despite such heroism, both parents lived in quiet concealment. The trauma, fear, and societal pressures were too great to allow the truth to breathe.
The Search Begins: A Fire, A Box, and a Name
Years later, in 2016, Linda made the decision to dive deep into her family’s past. The journey didn’t begin with archives or ancestry websites—it began with a fire. When her parents’ house caught fire in 2011, her sister salvaged a water-damaged box during the chaos and stuffed it away in a closet. Five years later, that forgotten box found its way into Linda’s hands.
Inside were letters, documents, and photos—mostly in Hungarian. With no idea how to interpret them, Linda scoured the internet and began with the one name she remembered: Adam Pulitzer. Her mother had once casually mentioned him as a famous relative who had been a pioneer in ear, nose, and throat medicine. A quick search revealed he was indeed a leading figure—known as the father of otology.
Still, she couldn’t connect the dots. So she found a translator—a kind-hearted Hungarian woman in Maryland—who recognized the documents as museum-worthy. That connection led her to Andras Kocicki, a historian and legal expert in Hungary, who would become her research partner.
From One Name to Eight Generations
As the research unfolded, Linda learned that her family wasn’t just Jewish—they were prominent figures in Hungarian society. Her great-great-grandfather, Ignaz Misner, was one of the founders of the Budapest Bar and a leading advocate for justice. Despite growing up an orphan due to the cholera epidemic, he became a respected lawyer, a man of integrity and conviction. Tragically, he died of starvation at age 99 in a hospital within the Jewish ghetto during the Holocaust.
Another remarkable relative was Sigmund Pulitzer, the second-youngest of 14 children. He wrote a book titled Our Family History, which became the cornerstone of Linda’s research. Though he struggled as a child after the early death of his father, Sigmund rose to become a successful investor and advocate for transparency in finance, values that resonate just as powerfully today.
Through her work, Linda was able to trace eight full generations, over 300 years of Jewish history in Hungary. But this wasn’t just about dates and names—it was about character, courage, and the indomitable spirit of a family that never gave up, no matter how much was taken from them.
Piecing Together a 300-Year Legacy
What followed was a meticulous, heartfelt reconstruction of Linda’s family history, going back eight generations—300 years of Hungarian Jewish life.
Andras, the researcher, took each document Linda scanned and translated it, investigated further, verified facts, and helped her build a complex family tree. One breakthrough came in the form of a manuscript saved by a distant cousin: Our Family History, written by Sigmund Pulitzer, the youngest of 14 siblings, in the late 1800s. That manuscript became the anchor for everything.
Through it, Linda discovered an extraordinary lineage including Margit, the great-grandmother who unknowingly sparked this journey, lived through two World Wars, the Red and White Terrors, and Communist persecution. She lost everything—twice—and yet remained generous, spirited, and loving.
The Strength of Women Across Generations
At the heart of Linda’s story is the resilience of the women in her family, especially Margit, the woman who unknowingly sparked Linda’s journey. Margit lived through wars, revolutions, and deep personal loss, yet never lost her compassion or courage. A privileged woman by birth, she chose to serve as a nurse during World War I—something she didn’t need to do, but did out of a desire to help others. Even in old age, she faced the brutal policies of the communist regime, which stripped her of everything—her home, her property, her dignity—yet she endured. To Linda, Margit was more than a historical figure; she was a symbol of the quiet strength and unwavering love that defined generations of women in her family. Despite the tragedies they endured, they never gave in to bitterness. They protected, they cared, and they passed down a legacy of empathy and grace—something Linda now carries forward.
Turning Pain into Purpose: The Pulitzer Saga
As Linda gathered stories, she didn’t just collect facts—she connected emotionally to her ancestors. Writing became her way of organizing the details and honoring their lives. That writing turned into her memoir, The Pulitzer Saga—a blend of personal memoir, family legacy, and European Jewish history that reads like an epic novel.
Her work didn’t stop there. Linda’s story became the centerpiece of a permanent exhibit in the beautifully restored Rombach Synagogue in Budapest. The synagogue, damaged during WWII and never renovated until recently, now houses an exhibit with seven-minute films based entirely on Linda’s family’s journey. These stories are now part of Hungarian Jewish cultural preservation—an unimaginable turn for a woman who once knew nothing of her past.
Lessons in Courage, Compassion, and Curiosity
Throughout the episode, Linda’s strength and sensitivity shine. She doesn’t just recount events—she reveals the emotional toll of uncovering hard truths. Her father’s silence, her mother’s quiet sacrifice, and the loss of countless relatives in the Holocaust all form a painful backdrop. Yet she speaks with a deep sense of reverence and resilience.
She also shares a powerful message: ask while you can. “If I could give advice to my 30- or 40-year-old self, it would be: don’t accept the silence. Ask and ask and ask.”
She regrets not pushing her grandmother—who lived with them—for more stories. That grandmother had known many of the relatives Linda later researched. But childhood fears and respect for her sadness held Linda back.
Still, she’s grateful. “At least I found what I did,” she says. And what she found is priceless.
A Legacy Preserved in Pages and Film
Linda’s dedication to uncovering her family history didn’t just stop at research—it grew into a lasting legacy. Her deep dive into letters, photographs, and fragile Hungarian documents, some worthy of museum preservation, became the foundation for her book The Pulitzer Saga. What began as a personal journey evolved into a multi-dimensional tribute. Her story now lives on through a permanent exhibit at the Rumbach Synagogue in Budapest, where seven-minute films based on her book educate and inspire others to explore their own roots. This recognition speaks volumes—not just to her thorough research—but to the emotional depth and universal value of the stories she brought to light.
Final Thoughts: Everyone Has a Story
Linda’s story is more than a personal memoir—it’s a testament to the power of history, healing, and asking the right questions. It reminds us that silence often hides pain, but also courage. And that somewhere in our pasts are stories waiting to be honored, uncovered, and shared.
So if you’ve ever wondered about the names in old photo albums or why certain stories were never told, this is your cue to dig deeper. Because as Linda’s journey shows us, the truth might just transform not only how you see your family, but how you see yourself.
Watch her full episode here,
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