Hidden: Poland

 

a film about Child Survivors in Poland

Produced for the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust

 

 

 

HIDDEN: POLAND

A film produced by Rene Lichtman and Allan Siegel

for the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust

Directed and edited by Allan Siegel

“Hidden: Poland” is a film/document about Jewish child survival in Poland. It is about those individuals – children - who seemed to allude fate.  Through interviews and recollections, it weaves the memory of survival together with archival footage, personal photographs and other documents of the period.

Hidden: Poland  journeys into a world in which children had their identities camouflaged by false documents, memorized Catholic prayers and other means of self-preservation. Vividly and poignantly depicting the less visible dimensions of history,  Hidden:Poland creates a tapestry that is both a testament to the human spirit and a record of its atrocities.

The film weaves together the remembrances of four child survivors from different backgrounds and cities in Poland. Ludwik is from Warsaw; one side of his family was poor and the other rich. When the war begins he flees to the East to join his father; after his father is murdered, he disguises his identity and joins the partisans. Lillian was born and raised in an intellectual Jewish middle class family in Warsaw. Her father was a lawyer. Her escape from the Warsaw Ghetto was facilitated by bribes. She hides in a small village outside of Warsaw. Janine is from Lwow. She flees into the countryside with her brother after her family is killed. He is murdered and Janine finds refuge with another family. Through the ingenuity of her aunt, she hides in a convent and is eventually adopted by a local family. Aaron is from a small town with a large Jewish population. His father was a butcher whose business catered to non-Jewish residents. As the ghetto is being liquidated, Aaron escapes. He and his sister spend the war in an attic.

 Hidden:Poland is built around the remembrances of these four adults. Questions of history, ethics and identity permeate these stories; themes that have great bearing on contemporary society.

Comments, reviews about Hidden:Poland

Howard Reich, Arts Critic of the Chicago Tribune

 Rene,

I wanted to mention what a stunning piece of work your film "Hidden" is. In fact, I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it last week.  This is a haunting film that seamlessly links the stories of four survivors with the historical swirl of events that nearly engulfed them. I'm struck by how beautifully you have merged historical footage of the past with reminiscences by those who lived to tell the story today.   And I have no doubt that your film "Hidden" will stand among the important documents of a horrific moment in history.

Thank you for showing it to me.

Best,

Howard

_____________________

Diane Freilich 

Mazel Tov!

As you know, I think it is extraordinarily and sensitively produced.

This should be well received by all audiences..This project is very

important to all peoples wherever situated and whatever faith.

Thanks for putting it together.

Diane

________________________________

Dear Rene:

I would like your permission to enter it in the Harold

and Sarah Gottlieb Award competition for the best new Jewish movie.

David

David J. Magidson, Director

Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival

JCC of Metro Detroit,

West Bloomfield,Michigan, USA

 _________________________________

 Wow! Your film is an excellent teaching tool! I would love to use it

 with my 7th grade Hebrew class and their parents when we begin our

 Holocaust unit. The film would also be a fine introduction to the

 entire topic.

 Barry

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