On Life

In Germany, the Holocaust has been addressed in various ways for years: from a scientific perspective, an artistic perspective, through films, books, and exhibitions. This has shaped our view of history and drawn our picture. The memories of Holocaust survivors play a significant role in this. However, it is becoming increasingly rare to be able to draw upon the narratives of the survivor generation.

In the future, their children and grandchildren will have to convey these stories and life histories to keep our historical memory alive and prevent our understanding of history from being distorted. To this end, the film features Holocaust survivors from Israel. The film gives the contemporary witnesses living in Israel ample space for their life stories. It contrasts these with the life stories of the two subsequent generations, which are often marked by ‘gaps’ in memory. Many Holocaust survivors told their children little about their experiences in Germany during the Nazi era and in the camps. However, this generation is no longer content with these ‘gaps’. They travel to Germany, the land of their parents and grandparents, trace the footsteps of the Holocaust, and seek reconciliation with the country and its history. The documentary aims, together with Holocaust survivors and their children and grandchildren, to attempt to fill the gaps in memory and to dare to confront the past for the present and the future.