Ingrid Bergman and Her American Relatives

Ingrid will best be remembered for her part in Casablanca, staring with Humphrey Bogart in 1942. ... The book describes the relationship with her American relatives, the Boehms. ...The author, Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm did not meet her, but research and family contacts with Ingrid bring her to life. * Polish American Journal *
What a nice book written by Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm, a well known scholar of literature, the author of numerous biographies and contemporary history. Ingrid was a kin of Norman Boehm, the author’s husband. The book presents correspondence between Ingrid Bergman and her relatives residing in the United States. Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm has cleverly interwoven family letters with the biography of the actress. Ingrid Bergman had a life fulfilled. Her roles in films and theatrical creations provided audiences with joy and pleasure. Bergman is probably one of the few actresses who inspired a spontaneous acceptance. Readers of Ziolkowska’s Boehm book will be rewarded with generally warm feelings. * Tydzien Polski *
Ingrid Bergman was loved by critics, directors, writers, and above all by audiences, not only of cinema, but the theater as well. Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm was able to tell all that should be said about the actress but also about her artistry that grew as much from native talent as from her extraordinary personality. Bergman’s adventures in acting helped her become someone else, someone who did not feel fear. As a girl, she was kind to others, and so it remained for the rest of her life. The book by Ziółkowska-Boehm recalls not only the history of Ingrid Bergman and her family, but also what happened to her three husbands and four children. From the letters cited by the author, Bergman is shown as one oriented in the fate of her loved ones. Always interested in their lives, she was appreciative of any sign of feelings for her from them. Hardly surprising is the fact that the documents provided by the author’s husband were interpreted with a great culture by Ziolkowska-Boehm. The reader will find a beautiful portrait of a woman and an artist, one that anyone would like to be near or in her presence. * Nowy Dziennik: Polish Daily News *
Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm’s “Ingrid Bergman and Her American Relatives” states that in fact, Bergman had no Jewish ancestry. A careful genealogical investigation was made of a maternal cousin in the 1950's before he could be granted a work visa for Saudi Arabia, which formally banned Jews from entering the country. -- Benjamin Ivry, "Ingrid Bergman's Lifelong Love Affair With the Jew", Forward.com