Shadows of Memory
Encyclopedia
Shadows of Memory is a 2000 documentary
by Claudia von Alemann that describes the rise and fall of Hitler from the perspective of a Nazi supporter—Alemann's 84-year-old mother.
, this time turning her lens on the Holocaust. She returns to the town of her family’s origins where the lush landscapes contrast with the jarring truth her mother shares with daughter and granddaughter. Letting their conversation flow naturally, the intimate documentary explores how anti-Semitism
developed in Germany and how average citizens ignored the evils of the Holocaust.
Alemann juxtaposes the serenity and placidity of the nature shots with the brutality and horrors her speakers are forced to address. They sit on park benches or walk down forested paths, but the intensity of their thoughts distract them from the beauty of their surroundings. The film opens with the documentary maker herself sitting on the edge of a lush pond with her mother. While the beauty of the lavish greens, the warm sun, the gentle rustling of the water cannot be ignored, the loaded conversation quickly begins to dominate the viewer’s attention.
And that is not the only contrast in appearance. Many people would be embarrassed to admit their own ignorance and prejudice, but von Alemann’s mother is unafraid. With her curly white hair, glasses, and a soft face full of wrinkles, she looks like a benevolent, cookie-baking, story-telling grandmother. But her stories reveal the role she played in perpetuating a prejudice
that lead to genocide
. Raised in the small Christian
town of Seebach
, she was led to believe Germans were an especially brave, hardworking, and moral race. She had no direct experience with Jews, so when she was told as a child that Jews had "crooked noses and crooked legs" she accepted the slander blindly. When she was introduced to Jews for the first time, at a dance, she was surprised and commented to a friend, "They’re just like us."
Still, as a young adult reading Hitler's Mein Kampf
, she sympathized with, and felt excited by, the pro-German sentiment, while glossing over the anti-Semitism. And she was proud of her husband for serving as a commanding soldier in the German army.
Shadows of Memory lets camera linger on the faces of the speakers, picking up on the thoughts their expressions reveal that their words do not. The unrelenting camera also traps the speakers in its grasp, forcing them to confront the difficult subjects they are discussing. Just as the camera does not look away, the characters cannot ignore the horrors that have transpired in their own land, on their own watch. Misty eyes blink repeatedly, lips are bitten, and faces contort in an attempt to control overwhelming sorrow and frustration.
The documentary explores how one person’s actions affect other people. While von Alemann’s mother was not directly involved in the torture or murder of Europe’s Jews, her ignorance, compliance and nationalism
allowed the atrocities to occur. The effects of her inaction – and that of the ordinary German citizens of her generation – continue, rippling down to her granddaughter's generation as well. The seventeen-year-old girl is forced to grapple with frustration, shame, and sorrow that is the legacy left by her grandmother.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Claudia von Alemann that describes the rise and fall of Hitler from the perspective of a Nazi supporter—Alemann's 84-year-old mother.
Summary
Shadows of Memory caps a series of documentaries von Alemann filmed on the history of GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, this time turning her lens on the Holocaust. She returns to the town of her family’s origins where the lush landscapes contrast with the jarring truth her mother shares with daughter and granddaughter. Letting their conversation flow naturally, the intimate documentary explores how anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
developed in Germany and how average citizens ignored the evils of the Holocaust.
Alemann juxtaposes the serenity and placidity of the nature shots with the brutality and horrors her speakers are forced to address. They sit on park benches or walk down forested paths, but the intensity of their thoughts distract them from the beauty of their surroundings. The film opens with the documentary maker herself sitting on the edge of a lush pond with her mother. While the beauty of the lavish greens, the warm sun, the gentle rustling of the water cannot be ignored, the loaded conversation quickly begins to dominate the viewer’s attention.
And that is not the only contrast in appearance. Many people would be embarrassed to admit their own ignorance and prejudice, but von Alemann’s mother is unafraid. With her curly white hair, glasses, and a soft face full of wrinkles, she looks like a benevolent, cookie-baking, story-telling grandmother. But her stories reveal the role she played in perpetuating a prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
that lead to genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
. Raised in the small Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
town of Seebach
Seebach
-Places:*Seebach, Baden-Württemberg: a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany*Seebach, Thuringia: a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district in Thuringia in Germany*Seebach, Bas-Rhin: a municipality in the Département Bas-Rhin in France...
, she was led to believe Germans were an especially brave, hardworking, and moral race. She had no direct experience with Jews, so when she was told as a child that Jews had "crooked noses and crooked legs" she accepted the slander blindly. When she was introduced to Jews for the first time, at a dance, she was surprised and commented to a friend, "They’re just like us."
Still, as a young adult reading Hitler's Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
, she sympathized with, and felt excited by, the pro-German sentiment, while glossing over the anti-Semitism. And she was proud of her husband for serving as a commanding soldier in the German army.
Shadows of Memory lets camera linger on the faces of the speakers, picking up on the thoughts their expressions reveal that their words do not. The unrelenting camera also traps the speakers in its grasp, forcing them to confront the difficult subjects they are discussing. Just as the camera does not look away, the characters cannot ignore the horrors that have transpired in their own land, on their own watch. Misty eyes blink repeatedly, lips are bitten, and faces contort in an attempt to control overwhelming sorrow and frustration.
The documentary explores how one person’s actions affect other people. While von Alemann’s mother was not directly involved in the torture or murder of Europe’s Jews, her ignorance, compliance and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
allowed the atrocities to occur. The effects of her inaction – and that of the ordinary German citizens of her generation – continue, rippling down to her granddaughter's generation as well. The seventeen-year-old girl is forced to grapple with frustration, shame, and sorrow that is the legacy left by her grandmother.
Film festivals
- Figueira da Foz, International Film Festival, Portugal
- Women Make Waves Film Festival, Taiwan
- Dubrovnik International Documentary Film Festival, Croatia
- Women's Film Festival, Seoul, Korea
- International Documentary Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro
- Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire, Montreal
Reception
Shadows of Memory is sensitive to the fact that Alemann's mother's prejudice was rooted in ignorance. But, nonetheless, the documentary is still critical of her behavior. The film has been described as "candid" and "deeply moving."See also
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- Marion's TriumphMarion's TriumphMarion's Triumph is a 2003 documentary that tells the story of Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a child Holocaust survivor, who recounts her painful childhood memories in order to preserve history. The film combines rare historic footage, animated flashbacks, and family photographs to illustrate the...
- Paradise CampParadise CampParadise Camp is a 1986 documentary about Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Unlike other Holocaust camps, Jews entered Theresianstadt willingly, even eagerly, because Nazi lies led them to believe it would be a peaceful retreat. The deception continued even after it was clear...
- Pola's MarchPola's MarchPola's March is a 2001 documentary made by Jonathan Gruber about a Holocaust survivor, Pola Susswein's emotional trip back to her childhood home in Poland after fifty years spent in Israel, trying to forget her painful past.-Summary:...
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- Boys of Buchenwald
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- The Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of LodzThe Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of LodzThe Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of Łódź is a 1982 documentary that uses archival film footage and photographs to narrate the story of one of the Holocaust's most controversial figures...
- They Were Not SilentThey Were Not SilentThey Were Not Silent is a documentary about the Jewish Labor Committee's anti-Nazi movement in America before, during and after World War II. The film features rare archival footage and photographs along with interviews with labor veterans, Holocaust survivors and scholars...