Conversation so far:
What did this lead too?
George Steiner was born in 1929.
Who where his parents?
Paris, to Viennese Jewish parents Dr Frederick George Steiner and Mrs Else Steiner (nee Franzos).
WHy was this so terrible?
He has an elder sister, Ruth Lilian, who was born in Vienna in 1922.
What did this mean?
Frederick Steiner was a senior lawyer in the Austrian Central Bank.
WHta did his mother try?
Else Steiner was a Viennese grande dame.

Question: Why was this so bad?
Self-contained rewrite: Why was George Steiner's mother being a Viennese grande dame so bad?