2006 American film
Inheritance
|
---|
|
Directed by
| James Moll
|
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Produced by
| - James Moll
- Christopher Pavlick
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Starring
| - Vivian Delman
- Monica Hertwig
- Reinhardt Hertwig
- Helen Jonas
|
---|
Cinematography
| Harris Done
|
---|
Edited by
| James Moll
|
---|
Music by
| - Andres Goldstein
- Daniel Tarrab
|
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Production
company
| Allentown Productions
|
---|
Distributed by
| PBS
|
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Release date
| |
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Running time
| 75 minutes
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Country
| United States
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Language
| English
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Inheritance
is a 2006 American
documentary film
about
Monika Hertwig
[
de
]
, also known as Monika Christiane Knauss,
[1]
the daughter of
Ruth Irene Kalder
[
de
]
and
Amon Goth
, commandant of the
Płaszow concentration camp
. Monika Hertwig was 10 months old when her father was hanged in 1946 for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. She discovered the truth about him only as a young adult, because her own mother told her in childhood that he was a good man and a war hero. The film centers around her meeting a
Holocaust
survivor,
Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig
, who was interned at Płaszow and personally knew Goth.
[1]
The film was produced for
PBS
by
James Moll
,
film director
,
documentary producer
and the Founding Executive Director of the
USC Shoah Foundation Institute
focusing on testimonies of the
Holocaust survivors
. In 2009,
Inheritance
was nominated by the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
and received an
Emmy Award
in the category of Outstanding Interview.
[2]
Synopsis
[
edit
]
In the documentary,
Monika Hertwig
[
de
]
travels to Płaszow on the outskirts of
Krakow
, Poland in an attempt to learn more about her father,
SS
-
Hauptsturmfuhrer
Amon Goth, who was portrayed in
Steven Spielberg's
1993 film
Schindler's List
by British actor,
Ralph Fiennes
. The film had deeply affected Monika, and she claims to have hated Spielberg after watching it.
[3]
In her search for more information, Hertwig has a meeting at the scene of the former
concentration camp
with
Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig
,
[4]
a Holocaust survivor born in
Krakow
, who was interned at Płaszow, and was forced to work as a maid for Amon Goth. She survived the Holocaust with the help of German businessman
Oskar Schindler
. More than 60 years after Goth's execution for war crimes, the two women first met there in person.
Amon Goth had two Jewish housemaids who stayed with him in the villa: Helen ("Lena") Hirsch (now Helen Horowitz, living in Israel) and Helen ("Susanna") Sternlicht (now
Helen Jonas
-Rosenzweig, living in the United States). As part of Monika Hertwig's search for more answers, she was given the opportunity to meet the woman from the
Krakow Ghetto
enslaved and preyed upon by her father during
the Holocaust in Poland
.
[3]
Goth abused Helen and shot her boyfriend, a Jewish boy named Adam, dead in front of her.
Goth was a married man, with a wife Anni, and two children in Vienna,
[1]
when he met Monika's mother
Ruth Irene Kalder
[
de
]
? a beautician and aspiring actress originally from
Gliwice
(or
Wrocław
, sources vary) ? through his friend Oskar Schindler in Krakow in 1942 (or early in 1943). She worked as secretary at Schindler's
factory
at that time.
[5]
The two had an ostentatious camp affair which Goth's Austrian wife knew nothing about. They partied, played tennis and rode horseback together. Ruth saw him hunting humans (in fact, he killed hundreds), but in a 1983 interview with the BBC she attempted to defend him nevertheless. During this interview, she was shown the transcripts of his war crimes trial.
She was dying of
emphysema
and committed suicide a day later.
[1]
[6]
Monika, who was 37 years old at the time of the interview, thus first heard her mother speak frankly on the subject of her father, to total strangers.
[4]
[7]
Monika Hertwig, Goth's illegitimate child, and his camp maid Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, met for the first time in 2004.
[4]
Hertwig had requested the meeting with Jonas, but Jonas was hesitant because her memories of the past were so traumatic. She eventually agreed after Hertwig wrote to her: "We have to do it for the murdered people."
[4]
Jonas shared her sentiment and offered to meet at the Płaszow Memorial Monument in Poland and tour Goth's villa with her for the documentary
Inheritance
; her husband had committed suicide in 1980 suffering from
survivor's guilt
.
[8]
James Moll, the film's director, brought the women together in front of a camera in order to make his film.
[4]
[9]
[7]
Release
[
edit
]
Inheritance
was completed in 2006. It was produced by James Moll's company Allentown Productions. The primary footage was shot over the course of 13 days on location in Poland, but footage was also shot at Helen's home in New Jersey and on the outskirts of Munich, where Monika lived.
[3]
The film premiered on June 25, 2006, at the
Los Angeles Film Festival
and was shown internationally as
Der Mordervater
in Germany, as
Forintelsens arv
in Sweden, and as
My Father was a Nazi Commandant
(TV title) in the UK.
Critical response
[
edit
]
The documentary received critical acclaim and positive reviews from a number of critics, including David Cornelius of
DVD Review
("simple but stunning documentary"), William Lee of
DVD Verdict
("a remarkable story"), Professor Cynthia Fuchs at
PopMatters
("they live with the past, each moment a lesson"), and Michael Atkinson of
IFC
("a fascinating dialectic for a number of reasons").
[10]
Production notes
[
edit
]
James Moll said in production notes that he first came in contact with Monika Hertwig in 2003 only to ask her permission to use photographs of Amon Goth for a separate project connected with
Schindler’s List
video release. He expected the worst but changed his attitude upon hearing her speak. One of her statements became the genesis of
Inheritance
for him. "I am not my father" she said. Around the same time, Moll was introduced to Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig through
Shoah Foundation of the University of Southern California
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
David Crowe (Aug 1, 2007).
Amon Goth, Oscar Schindler, and Płaszow
(Google books preview)
. Basic Books. pp. 209?214.
ISBN
978-0465008490
. Retrieved
April 2,
2013
.
- ^
"30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Winners Announced at New York City Gala"
(PDF)
.
Internet Archive
. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from
the original
(PDF file, direct download 50.4 KB)
on November 22, 2010
. Retrieved
May 20,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Allentown Productions
Official website
Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Aleisha Fishman, USHMM (February 26, 2009).
"Helen Jonas, the Holocaust Survivor"
.
Voices on Antisemitism ? A Podcast Series. Transcript
. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2013
. Retrieved
April 2,
2013
.
Interview also available as:
an mp3 file ? 8.17 MB
- ^
Johannes Sachslehner (Mar 11, 2008).
Goths Lebensgefahrtin Ruth Irene Kalder
(in German). Styria. p. 167.
ISBN
9783222132339
. Retrieved
26 July
2013
.
- ^
Gritten, David (27 February 1994).
"The 'Schindler' Everyone Forgot About--Until Now : A decade ago, Jon Blair's documentary won a British Academy Award"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
10 August
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Karin Tanabe (November?December 2008).
"Daughter of evil"
.
Film watch
. PBS film review. Archived from
the original
on October 4, 2013
. Retrieved
April 3,
2012
.
- ^
Staci Sturrock, Staff Writer (Jan 25, 2011).
"Holocaust survivor: 'I lived in such fear. I experienced such evilness'
"
.
Related News
. Palm Beach Post
. Retrieved
April 4,
2013
.
- ^
"Overcoming Prejudice"
.
Oprah.com
. Harpo Productions, Inc
. Retrieved
April 3,
2013
.
- ^
Michael Atkinson (January 13, 2009).
"James Moll's "Inheritance" (2006)"
.
On DVD
. IFC
. Retrieved
April 3,
2013
.
External links
[
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]