Conventional wisdom is that Jews โwent like lambs to the slaughterโ during the Holocaust, that they put up little resistance in the face of the murderous intent of the Nazis and local collaborators throughout Europe. This was a convenient narrative for the perpetrators: an indication of their antisemitic stereotyping.
But we are now seeing increasing evidence of acts of resistance, and some are of huge significance. This is why the recently-released documentary, Four Winters, is so groundbreaking.
Shown to a large and enthusiastic audience at the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre (CTHGC) recently, the movie โ by the filmโs Producer and Director, Julia Mintz โ highlights the incredible resistance demonstrated by the 25 000 Jewish partisans who fought from the forests of Eastern Europe (largely in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania) over a period of four years (the four winters for which the film is named). Information about this phenomenal military force was largely suppressed during the Soviet era, which is why it is crucial that the stories of these brave men and women are publicised.
Present at the movieโs launch in Cape Town, which followed showings in Johannesburg and Durban, Julia explained that, โMy intention with this film โ made over a 10-year period โ was to make the partisansโ stories the main focus, while the expert, academic information served as a backdrop for assessing the accuracy of what these fighters were telling me more than 70 years after the actual events. As such, no Holocaust scholar appears on screen; the key interviewees are the former partisans, who were in their 80s and 90s when I interviewed and filmed them.โ Here we have oral history affirmed by the academic research of the scholars.
In addition to the real-life descriptions of the partisan fightersโ activities, the film is characterised by many never-before seen photographs and film clips from the time. โOne of the surviving partisans whom we interviewed is a woman named Faye Schulman. A photographer by trade, Faye managed to recover her camera and developing chemicals, so she took photographs and developed them under blankets at night. She held onto these images throughout the War, and shared them with us for the film,โ Julia says. These pictures provide unique visual insights into the war that the Jewish partisans waged โ military action that was very successful, despite the conditions under which the partisans lived.
โWe certainly feel proud that we could host a showing of this important film, especially now, as we start to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Centre,โ comments Kuba Nowakowski, Director of the CTHGC.
To learn more or book an in-person screening in your community, visit fourwintersfilm.com or contact Peter@newmoondocumentary.com
โข Read theย June 2024 issueย โย Clickย hereย to start reading.
โข To advertise in the Cape Jewish Chronicle and on this website โ kindly contact Lynette Roodt on 021 464 6736 or email advertising@ctjc.co.za. For more information and advertising rate card click here.
โข Sign up for our newsletter and never miss another issue.
โข Please support the Cape Jewish Chronicle with a voluntary Subscription for 2024. For payment info click here.
โข Visit our Portal to the Jewish Community to see a list of all the Jewish organisations in Cape Town with links to their websites.
Follow the Cape Jewish Chronicle: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
