Die Geschwister Oppermann

The novel by Lion Feuchtwanger -- written after Hitler came to power but before he threatened war -- was prescient to say the least. And this patient and detailed mini-series does an amazing job to make you "feel" the incredulity and despair felt by the successful, wealthy, and secure assimilated German-Jewish family members -- a businessman, a doctor, and a professor -- as they slowly realize that their occupations are being appropriated, their professions are being denied, and their friends are unable or unwilling to help. Like the proverbial frog in the pot of water -- hardly aware that the water is being heated slowly to the boiling point -- the Oppermanns did not immediately try to escape Germany. They remained, trying to salvage what they could, until it was too late. Some libraries have this program on videotape.