Filmmaker Jon Kean’s documentary focuses on six women who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp in their late teens and early 20s. While their liberation from Nazi imprisonment was miraculous, their return to postwar European life was plagued with tragedy and problems: families perished during the war, homes and possessions were lost, and the dawning of the Cold War brought new hardship to Eastern Europe. The women eventually left for America and were amazed by the prosperity and generosity of their new homeland. All began remarkable new lives (one woman would become nanny to actor Ricardo Montalban’s children), but postwar America was eager to move on, and the women encountered few people who were interested in learning about their experiences. By the late 1970s, however, attitudes changed, as numerous films and TV productions appeared that dealt with the Holocaust, and the women were sought out as public speakers and consulted on projects related to Holocaust history. Kean, who also focused on the Holocaust in his 2009 documentary Swimming in Auschwitz (VL-9/09), here serves up a fine tribute to the human spirit, along with a reminder of the importance of never allowing this most heinous of tragedies to slip away into half-forgotten history. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)
After Auschwitz
(2018) 88 min. DVD: $69.95 ($325 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors in October). PPR. Volume 33, Issue 5
After Auschwitz
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