The Boys of Buchenwald
Encyclopedia
The Boys of Buchenwald is a 2002 documentary film that examines how the child survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp had to assimilate
themselves back into normal society after having experienced the brutality of the Holocaust. The documentary features interviews with the survivors, including Elie Wiesel
.
in France
where they were educated and cared for. The documentary follows the orphans, who are now old men, as they reunite on the 55th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald by the American army.
The now-elderly men all agree that their friendships in the orphanage made the tremendous losses they suffered more manageable. “I had just lost my father, and I had witnessed my brother’s murder right next to me,” one survivor says, addressing his best friend. “And then I met you. You were a godsend.”
The inhuman treatment they had received in the concentration camps meant the boys needed to relearn how to live in society. The boys of Buchenwald spent their childhoods surrounded by terror and death, and, as a result, they were rebellious against authority, full of anger and under-educated. In fact, society viewed child survivors as damaged goods who would go on to become psychopaths.
The boys had to relearn everything — even their meals proved challenging. Their extreme hunger and inexperience with ordinary behavior robbed them of table manners. They threw food, shoved it in their pockets to save for later, and gorged themselves, clearing their plates in a matter of minutes. With the help of benevolent guardians who gave consistent discipline the boys slowly relearned how to behave.
Once it was time to leave the orphanage and go out on their own, many of the boys moved to Australia
or Canada
to distance themselves from their awful pasts. There, they established homes and careers near one another so that they could still come together for meals and Jewish holidays.
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
themselves back into normal society after having experienced the brutality of the Holocaust. The documentary features interviews with the survivors, including Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
.
Plot
Over four hundred orphans from Buchenwald were sent to an orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where they were educated and cared for. The documentary follows the orphans, who are now old men, as they reunite on the 55th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald by the American army.
The now-elderly men all agree that their friendships in the orphanage made the tremendous losses they suffered more manageable. “I had just lost my father, and I had witnessed my brother’s murder right next to me,” one survivor says, addressing his best friend. “And then I met you. You were a godsend.”
The inhuman treatment they had received in the concentration camps meant the boys needed to relearn how to live in society. The boys of Buchenwald spent their childhoods surrounded by terror and death, and, as a result, they were rebellious against authority, full of anger and under-educated. In fact, society viewed child survivors as damaged goods who would go on to become psychopaths.
The boys had to relearn everything — even their meals proved challenging. Their extreme hunger and inexperience with ordinary behavior robbed them of table manners. They threw food, shoved it in their pockets to save for later, and gorged themselves, clearing their plates in a matter of minutes. With the help of benevolent guardians who gave consistent discipline the boys slowly relearned how to behave.
Once it was time to leave the orphanage and go out on their own, many of the boys moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
or 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...
to distance themselves from their awful pasts. There, they established homes and careers near one another so that they could still come together for meals and Jewish holidays.
Awards
- Gold Remi Award at the WorldFest International Film Festival in April 2004
- Bronze World Medal at The New York Festival in January 2004
See also
- Joseph SchleifsteinJoseph SchleifsteinJoseph Schleifstein is a Polish-born American who survived Buchenwald concentration camp at the age of four, one of the youngest to survive the Holocaust. He was hidden by his father in a large sack, enabling him to avoid detection by SS guards when arriving at the camp...
, survived Buchenwald at age four - Stefan Jerzy ZweigStefan Jerzy ZweigStefan Jerzy Zweig is an author and cameraman and is known as the Buchenwald child from the novel by Bruno Apitz, Naked Among Wolves. He survived Buchenwald concentration camp at age four by being protected by his father and other prisoners.- Early years :Stefan Jerzy Zweig lived with his parents,...
, survived Buchenwald at age four, hidden by his father and other prisoners - La Maison de Nina film on the same subject