Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Jason Goes to Jewfest South for FAREWELL HERR SHWARZ

The SVJFF marched on. This one was a documentary about family separation, and eventually reunion...sort of.

The separation was due to the Holocaust. Michla and Feiv'ke were brothers and sisters, both Holocaust survivors, but never reunited after the war. Both thought the other was dead. Michla moved to Israel, while Feiv'ke stayed in East Germany, very near the concentration camp, and married a German girl, putting the path behind him. For half a century the German and Israeli sides of the family didn't know about each other. But now their respective grandchildren are getting to know each other. Of course, there's a strong anti-German feeling in the Israeli side of the family, and that's the source of a great amount of stress. But I choose (and the younger generation chooses) to be optimistic and see this as a story of a family that was separated but found their way back together. It's complicated, but ultimately joyful.

Running Time: 97 minutes
My Total Minutes: 406,920

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