Customer Reviews

The Oppermanns: A Novel

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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.

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.

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.

If you've ever wondered how a modern, civilized country begins the slippery slope to cave-man barbaric behavior, this book is a must-read. It's an fast read too -- goes by very quickly, especially towards the end.

"The Oppermanns" is an extraordinary, (unfortunately) little-known novel that presents the rise of the Nazis and their first months in power through the experience of a single German Jewish family. The Oppermanns are old, established German Jews: upper-class, politically liberal, respected in progressive society, family members who are titans of industry and leading doctors. The reader views how their world closes in on them and collapses in 1932-1933.

This novel, written as the real events were transpiring, shows the incredulity of German Jews. It shows their enduring belief in the Germany of Goethe as the Germany of Hitler overtakes it. It shows their confidence in the German people to act reasonable even as the masses turn into shrill hatemongers. It shows the reluctance to emigrate, the loss of non-Jewish friends, the April boycott of Jewish shops, the Reichstag fire, the erection of concentration camps, Jewish suicides, etc. Though a bit over-the-top at times, this is an accurate depiction of what happened to the bourgeois Jews of Germany in 1933. I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, no one has bothered to renew the translation by James Clough since 1934. The translation is pretty awful at times.
-- As was common in the 1930s when discussing foreign politics, there was a tendency to overtranslate. All references to "der Führer" are rendered as "the Leader," and "Mein Kampf" becomes "My Battle." No one would translate either of these terms today. Even the Stahlhelm becomes the "the Steel Helmet Association," which is a literally correct and figuratively incorrect translation.
-- Even worse, the Nazis are referred to as "the Nationalists." This is misleading and even incorrect. I don't know if American and British readers in 1934 had no idea what Nazism was about, but to call the Nazis "Nationalists" is a gross oversimplification. They were radically nationalist, but so were other groups. They were fascist. They were radically racist. And, in fact, race was the defining factor in their worldview, not nationalism as we understand it.
Moreover, since there was another political party known as the "German Nationalists" (the DNVP) who were not Nazis, this is confusing.
-- The SA and SS who terrorized Jews and who ran the concentration camps are called "mercenaries" in this translation. They were not mercenaries, who are soldiers-for-hire with no ideological stake.
-- The translator was clearly unfamiliar with Anglophone Judaism. "Maoz Tzur" is presented as "Moaus zur" (i.e. an old German spelling of the Hebrew phrase). Non-Jews are called "goi," not "goy" as is common in English renditions. "Chutzpah" is rendered "chutspe," and "Gojim-Naches" is translated as "goi nonsense." The Hebrew phrase "gam zu l'tova" is rendered "gam su letovo." All of these are old German transliterations of Hebrew and Yiddish.
Although the Passover scenes are preserved and translated pretty well, the translator totally edited out a reference to Tisha b'Av. Either he didn't know what it was or figured that the reader wouldn't know what it was. But Tisha b'Av is very relevant when discussing the expulsion of Jews from Germany.

Finally a small correction to other reviews. According to the original Author's Note from the first English edition (Viking Press, 1934), which is reproduced in this edition, Feuchtwanger composed the book in 1933, not 1934. The original copyright was held by Querido Verlag, Amsterdam, 1933.

But, in sum: An excellent, contemporaneous view of German Jewish life in 1933. Highly recommended.

This book is outstanding, beautiful and skocking. It is a creation of a master.