Wednesday, February 7, 2018

'Line 41' DVD: Documentary on Holocaust Survivor Returning to Lodz Ghetto


The February 13, 2018 Film Movement DVD release of the 2015 German documentary "Line 41" is a companion to the (reviewed) 2016 Russian drama "Paradise" that Movement makes available the same day. The human faces that both films put on the Holocaust provides those of us with limited knowledge of that infamous period fascinating perspectives.

The following YouTube clip of the official US Trailer for "Line" provides an informative synopsis of the film that emphasizes the human element of the project.


"Line" gets its name from a still-running streetcar route through Lodz in Poland. The significance of this service is that it runs through the large WWII ghetto that is the childhood home of now 80-something Natan Grossmann. The compelling aspects of this include that the German and Polish civilian residents of the city would ride this tram through the ghetto to get from Point A to Point B and largely would turn a willingly blind eye to the deplorable conditions and immense suffering that they witness fairly literally in their own backyards.

Grossmann is the son of a Jewish shoemaker, who dies while imprisoned in the ghetto. Grossman also knows that his mother passes away during this period. His motives for returning so many decades later include learning the fate of his brother, who simply disappeared from the ghetto in 1942.

An amazing aspect of Grossmann finding the building where he and his family occupied a few rooms is that this structure looks the same in 2012. Hearing Grossmann speak lovingly about the German landlord of his family is even more surprising.

Filmmaker Tanja Cummings compares and contrasts the wartime experience of Grossmann with that of Jens-Jurgen Ventzki. Ventzki is the son of the Nazi High Mayor of the city. The inner demons of the younger Ventzki include coming to terms with his loving parent being a man with an active role in imprisoning and killing innocent Jews and gypsies.

The bigger picture is that Lodz is a planned city that is the product of Nazi propaganda that uses it as an example of the good quality of life under the Third Reich. Historic documents that "Line" discusses confirm that the father of Ventzki has a larger role in maintaining that false image.

An obvious message of "Line" is the scope of the hell that Jews and other "undesirables" experience under the noses of the general population during WWII. A less-obvious but more universal truth in the film is that propaganda never tells the real story.

Grossmann directly addresses the issue of propaganda in stating that his shoemaker father is not the wealthy Jew that fuels much of the hatred during WWII. He further chuckles in discussing the aforementioned German landlord being a very kind man who is good to the Grossmanns.

On the other side of the equation, the difficult truths that Ventzki faces include his father actively supporting the lies regarding Lodz. The news reports distort the nature of daily life there and completely disregard the large prison in the middle of the city where the inmates are kept until they become unable to work and either are gassed while riding in trucks or are crammed in rail cars to be shipped to concentration camps.

The final thought regarding this documentary is that the role of films such as "Line" (and "Paradise") includes helping ensure that the Holocaust remains in the public consciousness. This relates to the tried-and-true cliche that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

The special features include 25 minutes of bonus footage that includes unseen portions of interviews.

Anyone with questions or comments is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter.








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