When Hitler Rose to Power, One Jewish Family Had to Leave Everything Behind: A Moving Story of Courage, Exile and Childhood

The rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933 forces one German family to make an impossible choice: flee their homeland or risk becoming targets of a regime determined to silence anyone who stands in its way. Told through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl, this moving historical drama explores the loss of home, the pain of separation and the frightening reality of growing up in a world where prejudice is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Based on Judith Kerr’s semi-autobiographical 1971 children’s novel of the same name, director Caroline Link’s film offers a deeply personal perspective on the early years of Nazi rule. Rather than depicting the Holocaust through graphic violence or scenes of mass persecution, the story follows one family’s escape from Germany and the challenges they face as refugees in unfamiliar countries.

Its approach makes the film particularly accessible to younger audiences, introducing children to antisemitism, political extremism and the consequences of intolerance through an intimate family story.

A Family Realizes the Danger Before It Is Too Late

The story begins in Berlin in 1933, where nine-year-old Anna Kemper (Riva Krymalowski) attends a children’s costume party.

Dressed in a Nazi uniform, several boys begin harassing her. Fortunately, her older brother Max (Marinus Hohman), who is dressed as Zorro, steps in to protect her.

While the children experience these disturbing encounters, their parents are becoming increasingly alarmed by the political situation in Germany.

Anna’s father, Arthur Kemper (Oliver Masucci), is a respected theater critic who has openly spoken out against Nazism. His outspoken opposition has made him an enemy of Hitler’s movement, placing him among those marked for elimination once the Nazis seize power.

With the German election approaching, Arthur understands that remaining in the country could put his entire family in danger.

He initially travels to Prague on business while making arrangements for Anna, Max and their mother, Dorothea (Carla Juri), to join him in Zurich, Switzerland, should Hitler come to power.

His fears soon become reality.

After Hitler takes control of Germany, the Kempers waste no time preparing to escape. They must gather only the essentials, leaving behind the familiar home and belongings that have shaped their everyday lives.

For Anna, one of the most heartbreaking decisions involves her toys. She cannot take everything with her, meaning she must leave behind her beloved stuffed rabbit, the toy that gives the story its title.

She also faces the painful task of saying goodbye to two people who mean a great deal to her.

Her godfather and the family’s close friend, affectionately known as Uncle Julius (Justus von Dohnányi), tries to comfort her with the reassuring promise that good will always triumph.

Anna also tearfully embraces Heimpi (Ursula Werner), the family’s devoted housekeeper, promising that she will return to see her again soon.

Even the choice between taking her old stuffed rabbit and a newer stuffed dog becomes an emotional struggle. In the end, Anna chooses the dog, leaving another cherished part of her childhood behind.

The family understands that their departure must remain a secret. The children are warned not to tell anyone about their plans, while Heimpi faithfully keeps the family’s escape confidential.

Life as Refugees Brings Unexpected Difficulties

Switzerland initially offers the Kempers a place of safety, but their new surroundings prove far from easy.

For Anna and Max, even attending school becomes a challenge. The German spoken by their classmates sounds noticeably different from the language they grew up speaking in Berlin, making it difficult for them to adjust.

The family also encounters antisemitism among the local population. Arthur struggles to find suitable employment, while Switzerland’s neutral political position creates additional complications.

Some Swiss residents are concerned that his outspoken criticism of Hitler could damage relations with their powerful neighbor, Germany.

Although the family has escaped the immediate threat, they soon realize that starting over in another country brings its own hardships.

Hoping to find better professional opportunities, the Kempers eventually move to Paris.

However, the change does not bring the financial stability Arthur had hoped for. The writing assignments he manages to secure are limited and poorly paid, forcing the family to live on very little.

Their new life becomes one of quiet, genteel poverty.

The children struggle with the repetitive, modest meals and even everyday necessities become difficult to afford. Something as simple as buying pencils turns into a problem that requires careful consideration.

For Anna, drawing remains an important part of her daily life. She continues filling her time with pictures, although many of her subjects involve disasters and catastrophes.

Her drawings offer a glimpse into the worries and uncertainties surrounding her, even when she may not fully understand the political forces that have transformed her childhood.

A Birthday Call Brings Back Memories of Home

Despite the distance, the Kempers do not completely lose contact with the people they left behind.

Uncle Julius continues sending postcards, offering a small connection to their former life in Berlin.

One particularly touching moment arrives on Anna’s 10th birthday, when she is delighted to receive a telephone call from Heimpi.

For a child who has been forced to leave her home, familiar voices and messages from loved ones carry enormous emotional importance.

But the news from Germany is far from comforting.

Through information received from Heimpi or Uncle Julius, Anna learns that the Nazis have raided the family’s former home. Their books and other possessions have been burned.

The destruction is a painful reminder that the family has not simply lost a place to live. The life they once knew is being deliberately erased.

The belongings they left behind, the rooms where they grew up and the familiar objects that held their memories are no longer safe from the regime that forced them to flee.

A Different Perspective on the Holocaust and the Cost of Exile

One of the film’s most important themes is the extraordinary importance of Arthur’s decision to recognize the danger early enough to escape.

His political awareness gives the family a chance that countless other Jewish families did not have.

Many people failed to recognize, or were unable to act upon, the warnings about Hitler’s intentions. As Nazi persecution intensified, millions of Jewish people ultimately lost their lives in the regime’s death camps.

The Kempers’ experience is therefore markedly different from the suffering endured by the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

Some critics have argued that the family’s relatively limited hardships make their story less significant when compared with the scale of the atrocities committed by the Nazis.

However, the film offers a different perspective on what it means to lose everything.

The Kempers survive, but survival comes at an enormous personal cost. They are separated from their homeland, forced to abandon their possessions, stripped of professional security and deprived of friendships that had been part of their lives for years.

Their story also carries a particularly heartbreaking dimension when the family learns of the tragic fate of Uncle Julius.

For Anna, the man who once comforted her with the belief that good would always win becomes another painful reminder of the people and the life she has lost.

Ultimately, this is a story about the consequences of hatred as experienced by a family through the eyes of a child.

By avoiding graphic depictions of Nazi atrocities, the film allows younger viewers to understand how antisemitism can gradually destroy ordinary lives, beginning with discrimination, fear and the loss of basic freedoms.

It is a gentle but deeply affecting introduction to one of history’s darkest periods, reminding audiences that the victims of persecution did not all experience the same fate.

Some were murdered, while others managed to escape. But even those who survived were often left with a lifetime of memories, separation and the knowledge that the home they once loved might never exist for them again.