Shifting Paths is a multi-generational narrative exploring one family's resilience during the 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses in Frankfurt, Germany. This film traces the loss of a family-owned pharmaceutical company and how a once banned chamomile product, Kamillosan, has survived today with few knowing anything of its history. Arthur Abelmann founded the Chemiewerk pharmaceutical company in Frankfurt in the early 1920s. The film captures Frankfurt’s transformation between 1932 and 1934, highlighting Abelmann’s efforts to protect his company and family amid rising danger. After Hitler’s rise to power, the Nazi Doctors' Association banned his products, and on the eve of Boycott Saturday in 1933, he sent his family to Zurich before resigning from the Chemiewerk. The company was soon taken over by Degussa and IG Farben. The film uses first-person narratives, family artifacts, and archival media juxtaposing the vibrant Jewish cultural life in Frankfurt with the rise of Nazi oppression. Incorporating materials from the Arthur Abelmann collection at the Jewish Center for History and images from archives in Germany and Switzerland, the film explores the themes of survival, loss, and legacy. By blending historical visuals with modern footage, the film bridges past and present, telling an enduring story of resilience and hope.
About the Film
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Meet the Team
Director and Producer
Charles Abelmann lives in Washington DC and is the director and producer of the short documentary Shifting Paths. He is an educator with a background in research, policy and practice. Earlier in his career, he worked at the World Bank managing education projects in a wide number of countries including Uganda, Tanzania, China and Mongolia. He has also led public and private schools including being the Director at the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago while also having an appointment at the university as a lecturer. He currently works as a documentary filmmaker and as an executive coach. His films are a part of the New Day Film Cooperative. He attended Duke University for his undergraduate education and Harvard Graduate School of Education for his M.A and Ed.D.
Co-Producer/Editor
Lucia Fox-Shapiro is a documentary editor and archival researcher based in Washington DC. She specializes in nonfiction storytelling, with a focus on archival-based films and social impact projects. Prior to working on Shifting Paths, she edited and co-wrote the feature film A Pocketful of Miracles which tells the story of brother and sister reuniting after surviving the Holocaust. She is currently an associate archival producer at Cabbage Leaf Pictures.
Cinematographer
Philipp is a photographer and videographer with a focus on people, the reality of their personal lives and their environment. As a multimedia storyteller, his goal is to convey information and emotions sensitively – and in a way that best suits the story. His professional home is the photojournalism and documentary photography. He graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover. Visit his site here.