Les Chemins de la liberté

During that relatively small window of time, prior to the beginning of Hitler's conquest of Europe, when exportation rather than extermination was still the prudent solution to the "Jewish Problem", a rescue plan called the Kindertransport was begun which provided for the relocation of Jewish children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia into Great Britain. INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS is a documentary that examines the Kindertransport program through the eyes of the participants. No broad social commentary here, just remembrances of parents that had to send their kids away to a foreign land and into the arms of strangers so that they might survive the Nazi barbarians. The difficulty of having to provide a whole life's worth of instruction to children just before those devastating last goodbyes. A little girl wondering why, just after Hitler annexed Austria, none of her long-time Austrian friends showed up for her eighth birthday party. Parents desperately trying to keep the harsh reality of Nazi occupation from the innocent little people oblivious to the evil of man. And once the children were safe in Britain, their desperate attempts to get sponsors for parents left behind and for those lucky enough to be re-united with family after the war, having to say goodbye once again, only this time to broken hearted foster parents. This documentary is made more effective by snap-shots of the children, archival footage of Nazi Germany during the late 1930's ( a veritable sewer of anti-Jewish destruction and propaganda), and in this context, the painfully frightening sound effects of broken glass, trains and the voices of children singing in German, which seem strangely perverted; an unfortunate consequence which Germans should never forgive the Nazi's.

This film clearly demonstrates how ashamed this country should be in regard to some of it's actions during WW2, and how evil the people in power in government could be. In some ways, no better than the Nazi's. We had the clear chance to save 10's of thousands of children's lives, yet we denied safety to the most innocent of victims of Hitler. And all because of a 'moral majority' that said it wasn't right to separate children from their parents. The same 'moral majority' that controls this country today. In fact, I believe if someone asked us to save the lives of children in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, we would probably again refuse. The real reason being because these are people with different religious beliefs. And these people have the audacity to call themselves 'Christians'. These are the same type of 'Christians' as those who formed the Spanish Inquisition. Who have founded their religion on hatred of anyone different or simply anyone who has a different idea than they do. It's truly ironic that Washington has a Holocaust museum when it's clear that the government (who knew exactly what Hitler was doing to the Jews long before the common people did) supported Hitler's genocide by it's silence on the matter, just as the Catholic church did. But in the case of the Catholic church it was no surprise, because it has always been a representative of hatred toward all Jews, Muslims, and anyone who isn't 'Christian'. And by the way, I'm not Jewish, I'm not anything, just someone who hates intolerance and cruelty of any kind.

After coming home from a day "out on the town" and then sitting down to watch this program on PBS by accident while channel-surfing was an interesting experience. The documentary so vividly told the stories of the experience of the children who where part of the the Kindertransport. What did it mean for them to be separated from their parents? What was it like for the parents who sent them away? How did the children cope with being in a strange land with strangers? How did some children deal with their parents' demise? How did some children deal with being reunited with their parents after the war? The movie was very well-done and very moving. I would definitely recommend owning this movie. Well-deserved Oscar win.

This is a film that must be seen by your entire family. True, it's very disturbing, but it's one of the best films ever made about the horrors of war. Beautifully made, touching and moving, this is just a marvel. It should be shown every year on national television, to make sure that people never forget. Technically a marvel, there is not one thing wrong with this film, other than the fact that people haven't seen it.

"Into the Arms of Strangers" (2000): This is a documentary about parents who try to get their children OUT of the reach of Nazis (focusing on the "Kindertransport" system). Once in awhile a documentary comes along that is SO full of information you did not have, SO mesmerizing, and SO important to your understanding of the World, it is a must-see - for EVERYONE. Can you imagine what it is to send your children away…to…somewhere, not knowing what will become of them, and wondering if you shall EVER see one another again? Can you imagine being a young child, and as you're being put on a train for the escape, you scream to your parents (who are not going with you) that you must be adopted and they never did love you? Can you imagine being the child whose father, out of pure, illogical, last-second panic LOVE, pulled you back out of the moving train through the window, nearly killing you from the fall, and whose fates would then send you both to concentration camps? How would YOU and YOUR father DEAL with this, if you both "survived"? It uses excellent archival film (appears restored), beautiful scoring, artful editing, and lots of interviews (with surviving children and a few of their "foster parents"), make this an incredibly moving, horrific, inspiring experience. Really, you NEED to see "Into the Arms of Strangers".