Will I love The Oppermanns?

I loved this novel because the writer himself had fled Germany because of Hitler’s oppressive edicts.

There is a genuine authenticity I immediately sensed in each of the characters, and why not, since Feuchtwanger himself experienced first-hand the oppressive darkness spreading across Germany in 1933. Aren’t writers told to write about what they know? Feuchtwanger did just that, and it places a unique value on the novel, making it more a historical document than simply a fictional story.

My hope is many will read this novel and understand the dangers of fascism, so we don’t repeat what history has already… show more.

This was one of those extraordinary books that help you see history in a different way. It tells the story of the Nazi takeover of society in the early 1930s. 

What makes The Oppermans astonishing is that it was written in real-time and published in 1933, just as Hitler assumed power. Its author, part of a Jewish family living in Berlin, recognized what was happening and created an urgent, mesmerizing page-turner.

The book is an excellent and compelling narrative on its own. But knowing when it was written adds extraordinary power, as well as a remarkable insight into human self-deception,… show more.