Judy Levis Krug Boca Raton Virtual Jewish Film Festival

The Rothschild Saga: Rise - Riches - Repercussions

Expired April 1, 2023 3:45 AM
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Available Mar 14 to Mar 31

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Rothschild stands for one of the most powerful banking families - representative of the fate of many wealthy Jewish families before World War II. Mayer Amschel Rothschild left the Frankfurt ghetto in 1756 as a 12-year-old and learned the profession of dealing in coins and bank. In 1811 he transferred a substantial sum to Frankfurt, in return for which the Jewish community received civil rights. Mayer's striving is not only aimed at maximizing profits, he also contributes to overcoming discrimination against Jews. Under the Nazis, however, the Rothschilds became the target of anti-Semitic propaganda, and to this day anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are sparked by the name "Rothschild".


1938: The Nazis have just "connected" Austria to the German Reich - i.e. occupied it. The lives of Jews in Austria are now in grave danger. Miriam Rothschild is alarmed. She will one day become a world famous entomologist. But now it's about getting a cousin out of Austria. Because the Viennese part of the extended family became the target of anti-Semitic propaganda. All Rothschilds can leave Austria except Louis Nathaniel. The Nazis will hold him for a year - until they have extorted his entire fortune.


At the same time, the story of the Rothschilds is told. It begins in the Frankfurt ghetto, which Mayer Amschel Rothschild left in 1756 as a twelve-year-old orphan. He learns one of the few trades that Jewish people are allowed to do at the time: dealing in coins and banking. After his death, his five sons continued Amschel's success story in London, Paris, Vienna, Naples and Frankfurt.


Freedom for money - what happens to Louis Nathaniel was more than a century earlier in Frankfurt's Judengasse. In 1811, Mayer Amschel Rothschild transferred a substantial sum to the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. In return, the Jewish community receives an "emancipation edict". It grants Jews civil rights. Now they are free and allowed to live outside the oppressive, humiliating atmosphere of the ghetto.


This marked the beginning of the family's rise to wealth and power, making them the target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and hate campaigns to this day.


Sponsored by Connie Greenberg

  • Year
    2022
  • Runtime
    52 minutes
  • Language
    German w/subtitles
  • Country
    Austria
  • Premiere
    Palm Beach County
  • Director
    Klaus T. Steindl
  • Screenwriter
    Klaus T. Steindl
  • Cast
    Alina Fritsch (Miriam Rothschild)Roman Blumenschein (William Shirer)Rainer Doppler (Mayer Amschel Rothschild)Alexander E. Fennon (Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild)David Jakob (Heinrich Himmler)Alexander Stecher (Tutor)Daniela Zacherl (Betty Rothschild)
  • Cinematographer
    Helmut Wimmer, Hubert Doppler
  • Editor
    Robert Zapletal