Once We Were Family

ONCE WE WERE FAMILY(In Nazi Germany)>D. Knittle 4.8 stars>4.0 out of 5 stars The other sideReviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 March 2023>CM Message: Fruitvale>Berlin, 1935. Thirteen-year-old Annalise belongs to a middle-class family of six children. Unaware of the evils of Nazism until it is too late, her parents struggle to keep the family together while facing daily threats of betrayal.The atmosphere is thick with mistrust. Annalise loses her best friend and childhood crush to the encroaching specter of bigotry and Nazism. Her brother Hans is forced to join the Nazi youth and prepare for war. The two youngest children, twins, are indoctrinated by the Nazis and become a threat as informers. Her oldest sister flirts with young Gestapo agents, exposing the family to further scrutiny.Annalise grows into womanhood during Hitler's reign. She will leave her childhood home. Will she find love? Will she find resolution from the sins of her past and start a new life?This is a story of hope in the face of evil, that asks the question of how people can function in a society that turns so barbaric. How does a society embrace a monster and then, cannot, or is unwilling to, fight for decency? For Annalise, is there redemption after all?