A sample of what is to come…
Two episodes of ten in the series
EP. 1 “Monster in the House”
BERLIN - THE 1920’S
In Berlin, the harsh Versailles Treaty has crippled Germany by demanding restitution at a rate the defeated country cannot afford to repay. The German people are plunged into poverty. Hitler is just beginning to rise in power. Fascist rhetoric pits German citizens against their Jewish neighbors for control of the few available resources that remain. Johannes Wolpe, Hans’ father, is a bourgeois banker. His friends are wealthy Nazis. He and his wife, Beatrice Engers, have two sons, Hans (7yrs old), Alexander (4yrs old), and a daughter (Lilihana) on the way. Beatrice’s brother, Leon, is an bisexual esoteric painter, partnered with the occult magician Aleister Crowley. Berlin shows a harsh face to Jews, to gay men, and to intellectuals of any kind.
Johannes feels entitled to gain wealth in any way he can, and embezzles over 10 million Deutches Marks from his own bank. He subsequently burns the bank to the ground, enlisting the help of his young son, Hans, to do it. The family is forced to flee to Paris.
EP. 2 “The Boxer”
PARIS -1934
In Paris, Johannes is pursued by police, trusting the family’s protection to Nazi collaborators who partner with him on international swindles. He becomes involved with the Barmat Brothers - wealthy, shady Russian operatives - and he bribes Parisian police officers to buy time.
Hans Wolpe, now 16 years old, excels in his Parisian high school, mastering languages easily, but his greatest love is boxing. His brother Alexander becomes a wrestler, and they, along with their shy, studious younger sister Lillihana, are inseparable. When Hans prepares to fight a championship match, his father fails to appear in support. Victorious in the competition, Hans is nevertheless publicly shouted down because he is a Jew. His brother and sister stand with him, but Hans is disappointed, angry and confused. Hans feels his direction changed when he meets the mysterious Rivka, a beautiful young resistance fighter from Poland, who has strong views on what Hans should do with his life.