The Oppermanns: A Novel [Paperback]

Lion Feuchtwanger (Author), Ruth Gruber (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2001

First published in 1934 but fully imagining the future of Germany over the ensuing years, The Oppermanns tells the compelling story of a remarkable German Jewish family confronted by Hitler's rise to power. Compared to works by Voltaire and Zola on its original publication, this prescient novel strives to awaken an often unsuspecting, sometimes politically naive, or else willfully blind world to the consequences of its stance in the face of national events -- in this case, the rising tide of Nazism in 1930s Germany. The past and future meet in the saga of the Oppermanns, for three generations a family commercially well established in Berlin. In assimilated citizens like them, the emancipated Jew in Germany has become a fact. In a Berlin inhabited by troops in brown shirts, however, the Oppermanns have more to fear than an alien discomfort. For along with the swastikas and fascist salutes come discrimination, deceit, betrayal, and a tragedy that history has proved to be as true as this novel's astonishing, profoundly moving tale.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (May 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708808
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708802
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eerily foretells the events to come in the Nazi era, January 14, 2002

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Oppermanns: A Novel (Paperback)

I'm amazed this book doesn't have more glowing reader reviews as it is an absolute standout for many, many reasons, not the least of which is the author's amazing ability to predict the events to come, even before they've fully occurred! Written in 1934, the novel follows the life of one family, the Oppermanns, and the increasing restrictions and hatred they face in their daily lives. Unwilling to believe these rejections and restrictions are anything but "temporary", they are unprepared for the the way "their" community turns against them, but forced to deal with the inevitable consequences. I found this a very believable work, impossible to put down. The introduction by Ruth Gruber (she spoke with the author) helps place this work into a historical perspective.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a look, May 1, 2001

By 

Keith Murray (Gwynedd Valley, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oppermanns: A Novel (Paperback)

This novel recounts the experiences of a fictional Jewish family in Berlin in the early 1930s, as the Nazis take over Germany. An omniscient narrator relates the perspectives of both the Jewish Oppermanns and the National Socialists as Jewish stores are boycotted, as people are arrested in the middle of the night, and as some even commit suicide or find themselves in new concentration camps.

This is not Feuchtwanger's most-read work but it's worth reading if you're interested in Feuchtwanger, in modern literature, or even German history. Feuchtwanger accurately and sometimes painfully depicts the very feelings of people astonished at what was happening in their own country, and it's the novel's gripping reality that provides the reader with a fuller, more personal perspective not available in history books.

This edition includes an introduction written by someone who knew Feuchtwanger and also a reprint of the first review of the novel by the New York Times.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A psycological testimony of the begining of fachism, December 7, 2000

By 

Gil Garibi (Tel-Aviv Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oppermanns (Paperback)

This book gives you the authentic voice of an intellectual feeling the buds of oppression and fear anouncing themselves with the rise of the fachistic regims in Europe of the 30s. It tells the story of one family that is subjected to the sign of those dark times. It shows how profound the social disintegration was by illustrating how it penetrated the very family fabric itself. A book about the detorioration of values and the tearing of the mask of civilization. A must read in order to understand how close we are to the brink.