My Opposition: the Diaries of Friedrich Kellner
Encyclopedia
My Opposition - The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner is a 2007 documentary film
about an orphaned American who went in search of his German grandfather and discovered a secret diary written during the time of the Third Reich. The film is a production of Abella Entertainment Ltd. of Toronto
, Canada
, co-produced and co-directed by Arnie Zipursky and Fern Levitt, with executive co-producer Leonard Asper
of CanWest Global. The film is distributed by CCI Entertainment.
The documentary was based on news stories in Germany
and America
about the Friedrich Kellner diary. It was produced for Canadian television and shown in prime time on Global Television Network
. The film received a 2007 Creative Excellence Award from the U.S. International Film and Video Festival in Los Angeles.
A version of the documentary for libraries and schools has been produced by Chip Taylor Communications. This version has been renamed Anti-Nazi: My Opposition - The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner.
and the ten-volume secret diary he wrote during World War II
in Laubach
, Germany, to record the misdeeds of the Nazis. The movie uses reenactments and archival footage and interviews to recount the lives of Friedrich Kellner, who risked his life to write the diary, and of his orphaned American grandson, Robert Scott Kellner, who located his grandparents in Germany, and then spent much of his life bringing the Kellner diary to the public.
The combined stories in the documentary are told by three narrators: Robert Scott Kellner tells the story of his grandparents and relates his own history; Friedrich Kellner speaks aloud (through the voice of Tony Daniels
) as he writes entries into his diary; and the voice of Nicky Guadagni
provides historical background and additional biographical information.
The documentary begins in 2005 with Robert Scott Kellner in Germany relating the story of his 1960 search for his grandparents, Justice Inspector Friedrich Kellner and his wife, Pauline. Photographs show Friedrich as a soldier in World War I
, and as a political activist after the war for the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD). Dramatic reenactments depict Kellner as he campaigns against Adolf Hitler
and the Nazi Party. At his rallies, he holds a copy of Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf
, above his head and cries out: “Gutenberg, your printing press has been violated by this evil book.” Later, Kellner struggles to stop the mindless rampages of Kristallnacht
, and as a consequence he is brought before a tribunal and threatened with imprisonment in a concentration camp. The film explores both his active and passive resistance during the Third Reich as he distributes Allied leaflets and risks his life to write the diary. When World War II comes to an end, Kellner helps to restore the Social Democratic Party and becomes the chairman of the party in his region.
Interwoven with Friedrich Kellner's story are two others: that of his errant son, Fred, who becomes caught up in Nazi ideology and ultimately commits suicide; and the dramatic story of Fred’s son, Friedrich’s grandson, Robert Scott Kellner. The grandson, abandoned as a child, joins the U.S. Navy at the age of seventeen and goes to Germany in search of his family. When he finds his grandparents and learns about the secret diary, he devotes himself to bringing the diary to the attention of the public and to using its message to counter neo-Nazism
and anti-Semitism
. In a fashion similar to when his grandfather used Mein Kampf to bring attention to Hitler’s evil purpose, Robert Scott Kellner uses his grandfather’s diary to warn against extremists in the Islamic world and their modern version of totalitarianism
.
to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe Day
.
The filming of the documentary coincided with an exhibit of the diary at the Heimat Museum in Germany. This exhibit is included in the final cut of the film.
The documentary was filmed primarily in three locations in Germany: Mainz
, where Friedrich Kellner campaigned against the Nazi Party prior to Hitler's taking power; Laubach
, where Kellner lived during the war and wrote his secret diary; Hungen
, where in 1960 Kellner's grandson found unexpected help in locating his grandparents. The interviews with Robert Scott Kellner, story consultant and principal narrator, were filmed in Mainz, Laubach, and College Station, Texas
. The re-enactment scenes were staged and filmed in Toronto
, Canada
.
, and the historical narrator is the actress Nicky Guadagni
.
.
On September 26, 2007, the film had its American premiere in the theater of the George Bush Presidential Library.
In November 2008, the film will be screened at the United Nations as part of the U.N.’s outreach program, The Holocaust and the United Nations.
Jewish Film Festival in 2007, and it was also screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival in 2008.
As a result of the relevance of the story line, which depicts the historical diary as a weapon against intolerance, the documentary has been chosen to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht
in a screening at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library
at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York
.
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...
about an orphaned American who went in search of his German grandfather and discovered a secret diary written during the time of the Third Reich. The film is a production of Abella Entertainment Ltd. of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, co-produced and co-directed by Arnie Zipursky and Fern Levitt, with executive co-producer Leonard Asper
Leonard Asper
Leonard Asper , is a Canadian businessperson and lawyer. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Toronto Law School.Leonard Asper is the son of the late Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global...
of CanWest Global. The film is distributed by CCI Entertainment.
The documentary was based on news stories in Germany
Germany
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...
and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
about the Friedrich Kellner diary. It was produced for Canadian television and shown in prime time on Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
. The film received a 2007 Creative Excellence Award from the U.S. International Film and Video Festival in Los Angeles.
A version of the documentary for libraries and schools has been produced by Chip Taylor Communications. This version has been renamed Anti-Nazi: My Opposition - The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner.
Plot
The documentary tells the story of Chief Justice Inspector Friedrich KellnerFriedrich Kellner
August Friedrich Kellner was a mid-level official in Germany who worked as a justice inspector in Mainz and Laubach. During the First World War, Kellner was an infantryman in a Hessian regiment...
and the ten-volume secret diary he wrote during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Laubach
Laubach
' is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a , a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding are the towns of , , and .-Points of interest:...
, Germany, to record the misdeeds of the Nazis. The movie uses reenactments and archival footage and interviews to recount the lives of Friedrich Kellner, who risked his life to write the diary, and of his orphaned American grandson, Robert Scott Kellner, who located his grandparents in Germany, and then spent much of his life bringing the Kellner diary to the public.
The combined stories in the documentary are told by three narrators: Robert Scott Kellner tells the story of his grandparents and relates his own history; Friedrich Kellner speaks aloud (through the voice of Tony Daniels
Tony Daniels
-Voice Acting Roles:-References:*...
) as he writes entries into his diary; and the voice of Nicky Guadagni
Nicky Guadagni
Nicky Guadagni is a Canadian actress who has worked on stage, radio, film and television.-Career:Originally from Montreal, Nicky Guadagni majored in drama at Dawson College and went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her first role after graduation was playing Miranda, with...
provides historical background and additional biographical information.
The documentary begins in 2005 with Robert Scott Kellner in Germany relating the story of his 1960 search for his grandparents, Justice Inspector Friedrich Kellner and his wife, Pauline. Photographs show Friedrich as a soldier in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and as a political activist after the war for the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD). Dramatic reenactments depict Kellner as he campaigns against Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the Nazi Party. At his rallies, he holds a copy of Hitler’s book, 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...
, above his head and cries out: “Gutenberg, your printing press has been violated by this evil book.” Later, Kellner struggles to stop the mindless rampages of Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, and as a consequence he is brought before a tribunal and threatened with imprisonment in a concentration camp. The film explores both his active and passive resistance during the Third Reich as he distributes Allied leaflets and risks his life to write the diary. When World War II comes to an end, Kellner helps to restore the Social Democratic Party and becomes the chairman of the party in his region.
Interwoven with Friedrich Kellner's story are two others: that of his errant son, Fred, who becomes caught up in Nazi ideology and ultimately commits suicide; and the dramatic story of Fred’s son, Friedrich’s grandson, Robert Scott Kellner. The grandson, abandoned as a child, joins the U.S. Navy at the age of seventeen and goes to Germany in search of his family. When he finds his grandparents and learns about the secret diary, he devotes himself to bringing the diary to the attention of the public and to using its message to counter neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
and 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...
. In a fashion similar to when his grandfather used Mein Kampf to bring attention to Hitler’s evil purpose, Robert Scott Kellner uses his grandfather’s diary to warn against extremists in the Islamic world and their modern version of totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
.
Background and Production
Prior to the production of the documentary, the original volumes of the Friedrich Kellner diary were on exhibit at the George Bush Presidential LibraryGeorge Bush Presidential Library
The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. It was dedicated on Nov. 6, 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter...
to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
.
The filming of the documentary coincided with an exhibit of the diary at the Heimat Museum in Germany. This exhibit is included in the final cut of the film.
The documentary was filmed primarily in three locations in Germany: Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, where Friedrich Kellner campaigned against the Nazi Party prior to Hitler's taking power; Laubach
Laubach
' is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a , a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding are the towns of , , and .-Points of interest:...
, where Kellner lived during the war and wrote his secret diary; Hungen
Hungen
-Hungen:Hungen is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 20 km southeast of Gießen, and 18 km northeast of Friedberg. Surrounding towns are Laubach to the north, Nidda to the east, Wölfersheim to the south, and Münzenberg and Lich to the west.The history of Hungen...
, where in 1960 Kellner's grandson found unexpected help in locating his grandparents. The interviews with Robert Scott Kellner, story consultant and principal narrator, were filmed in Mainz, Laubach, and College Station, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The re-enactment scenes were staged and filmed in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Cast
The actor portraying the younger Friedrich Kellner as a political activist is Mark Goldstein; the 70-year-old Friedrich is played by Max Eisen, Holocaust survivor and noted Canadian speaker. Friedrich’s wife, Pauline, is played by Roseanne Mason for the early years; Doloris Funt is the older Pauline. The three actors portraying Robert Scott Kellner as a child, youth, and sailor are Andrew Elder, Hugh Fisher, and Jesse Dubinsky. The voice of Friedrich Kellner is the noted narrator, Tony DanielsTony Daniels
-Voice Acting Roles:-References:*...
, and the historical narrator is the actress Nicky Guadagni
Nicky Guadagni
Nicky Guadagni is a Canadian actress who has worked on stage, radio, film and television.-Career:Originally from Montreal, Nicky Guadagni majored in drama at Dawson College and went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her first role after graduation was playing Miranda, with...
.
Distribution
On June 16, 2007, the film had its Canadian premiere in prime time on Global Television NetworkGlobal Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
.
On September 26, 2007, the film had its American premiere in the theater of the George Bush Presidential Library.
In November 2008, the film will be screened at the United Nations as part of the U.N.’s outreach program, The Holocaust and the United Nations.
Reception
The documentary was chosen as the Tikkum Olam screening for the CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
Jewish Film Festival in 2007, and it was also screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival in 2008.
As a result of the relevance of the story line, which depicts the historical diary as a weapon against intolerance, the documentary has been chosen to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
in a screening at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library
Dag Hammarskjöld Library
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library is part of the United Nations headquarters and is connected to the Secretariat and conference buildings through ground level and underground corridors. It is named after Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations.The Library has specialized in...
at the United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
External links
- My Opposition - The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner at Telefilm CanadaTelefilm CanadaTelefilm Canada or Téléfilm Canada is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada.It is the primary federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry....
movie catalog. - CCI Entertainment - Production company
- Excerpts from the Kellner diary
- George Bush Presidential Library - Kellner exhibit
- Justus Liebig University - Kellner Project
- University of Massachusetts, A Promise To Keep
- Holocaust Museum Houston - Kellner exhibit
- Heimat Museum, Laubach, Germany - Kellner exhibit