This post is about another film related to Nazis and World War II. Instead of a semi-biographical film, it's a documentary by Israeli director Chanoch Ze'evi. I found an interesting article online about this director here.
This documentary isn't actually about Hitler's children since as far as is known, Hitler never had any children. But it's a very catchy title and is actually about the children and close descendants of those who worked closely with Hitler. Among the infamous ancestors are Himmler, Frank, Goeth and Goering. One often hears about survivors of those who were in the camps but to find out about the perpetrators' families is another take on the history of that era.
The most important thing to realize is that what happened in Germany could, can and does happen in other societies. Racial profiling has not just been used with Jews. During WW II, Germans and Japanese were interned by Allied countries. I know of a man whose German father was interned in South Africa during that era. I also once met a woman of Japanese descent who spent part of her childhood in a Japanese interment camp in Canada. For those who are interested, there is a a museum in New Denver, BC about the internment that was located there.
Niklas Frank, son of Hans Frank, has written about his parents and childhood experiences and gives readings to youth from his books.
One of the most touching portions of this film is when Rainer, the grandson of Rudolf Hoess (who was a commandant of Auschwitz), goes to visit Auschwitz. While there he speaks to a group of Israeli youth.
I guess this film really touched me because of my German heritage. My German grandfather fought on the German side and was injured by shrapnel which caused him to lose an eye and to live the remainder of his life with chronic pain. I am also quite sure that he suffered from PTSD as he was quite prone to getting very angry. His pain was not only physical but mental, emotional and spiritual as well. For many years I have felt shame for my German heritage because of the legacy of the Nazis.
But as Bettina, grand-niece of Goering in this film states,"That part of German history was only about 12 years." There is so much more to German history and culture than just the Nazis. During the film, she demonstrates and celebrates her German culture by holding a German party for her friends with German food and music.
Some quotes from this film:
"I asked my mother, "How many Jews did my father kill?" -Monika Goeth
"When I got divorced, I asked myself if should I keep my new name or go back (to Goering)?"-Bettina Georing, great-niece of Hermann Goering
"I look more like him (Hermann Goering) than his own daughter." --Bettina Goering
Here are some scenes from this film:
Here's the official trailer:
I found this little video online related to Rudolf Hoess with some interesting information included about his last days. To read and watch visit with link.
If you get to watch the DVD, there's also an interesting short film about an Israeli who finds a painting which leads him to some concentration camp survivors.
Extra little tidbit: I recently found an article online that Hitler might have fathered a child while he was younger. Here's the link to it. This site also has more information related to this film and relevant topics.
