In the late 1920s, Antheil moved to Germany, where he worked as assistant musical director of the municipal theatre in Berlin, and wrote music for the ballet and theatre. In 1930, he premiered his first opera "Transatlantic". This work, which involved American politics, gangsters, a bathtub scene and a Childs Restaurant was a success at the Frankfurt Opera. In 1933, the rise of the Nazi party made Antheil's "avant garde" music unwelcome in Germany, and at the height of the Depression, he returned to the US and settled in New York City.