SAN DIEGO — Back to the Fatherland is a documentary that raises more questions than it provides answers, but in so doing it portrays the anguish that Israeli Jews and Gentiles from Germany and Austria still feel about the Holocaust. With occasional passages involving filmmakers Kat Rohrer and Gil Levanon themselves — one being Austrian, the other Israeli — the film for the most part focuses on ttwo young Israeli men who decided to make their homes in Austria and Germany, and the reaction and memories their decisions stir up within their grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors.
In both instances, there is a special bond between grandparents and grandsons. When the grandparents come to visit their grandchildren in Berlin and in Vienna, it does not take long for the memories of discrimination, persecution, humiliation, and genocide to surface. And yet, the grandparents do not argue with the younger generation’s decision to make a life in the land of their tortures; they recognize, as their grandchildren do as well, that the times have changed in Europe, at least for the present. Should the tide again turn against the Jews, this time, at least, they will have a land–Israel–that will accept them without question.
Among the younger generation of Jews and Gentiles, there are questions that haunt, but are mainly unanswerable. Can Jews ever forget the past? One responder suggested that is like asking someone to forget his or her spouse’s infidelity. He or she might be able to get past it, but forget it? That’s unlikely. Are Jews stuck in the past? Has the memory of the Holocaust made us dysfunctional? Can Israel never achieve peace with the Arabs because instead of seeing another people, with their own rich traditions, they see instead Nazis wearing burnooses instead of armbands?
Both transplanted Israelis in this documentary have found themselves Gentile women to love, and one wonders how their children will be raised — as Jews or as Gentiles? This question is not addressed in the documentary, but it’s hard not to wonder. In lands where they tried to kill all the Jews, will those remaining be assimilated to such an extent that their history and culture will be forgotten?
Back to the Fatherland is a challenging piece of film making, worthy of your consideration.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com