Writing in 1933, the author, who fled Germany, focuses on a successful Jewish family in Berlin reluctant to accept the reality of the rise in Nazism. The novel was written in real time as a warning, and its pace is as fast and devastating as the changes happening in Germany.

 

Publisher's description: In the foment of Weimar-era Berlin, the Oppermann brothers represent tradition and stability. One brother oversees the furniture chain founded by their grandfather, one is an eminent surgeon, one a respected critic. They are rich, cultured, liberal, and public spirited, proud inheritors of the German enlightenment. They don't see Hitler as a threat. Then, to their horror, the Nazis come to power, and the Oppermanns and their children are faced with the terrible decision of whether to adapt--if they can--flee, or try to fight. Written in 1933, nearly in real time, The Oppermanns captures the day-to-day vertigo of watching a liberal democracy fall apart.