Nos Braços de Estranhos

The Testament of holocaust survivors is always worth hearing, lest we forget the depths to which humanity proved it was capable of sinking. In fact, the scale of the tragedy is almost incomprehensible to a privileged modern mind, hence the appeal of stories like 'Schindler's List', which focus on a few who were luckier than most: they give us an insight into the horror, without totally disconnecting from our own, more fortunate, experience. 'Into the Arms of Strangers' likewise tells a more human story than the bleakest truths, namely that of Jewish children taken in by Britain before the war. It's not a bad film, and yet to me it was not the most powerful account of the holocaust I've seen in spite of its human scale. Perhaps this is because the worst fate suffered by the rescued - the death of the families they left behind - was a burden gradually assumed, not directly witnessed, and the survivor's stories are thus that little bit more polished and analytical than in the most compelling documentary - whereas perceptions of events are static (and thus retain their quality of immediacy), our interpretations of our feelings are influenced by what happens afterwards, and even our own stories become slightly second-hand over time. Or perhaps this impression is merely created by the film-makers' slightly heavy-handed use of background music and images. In spite of the above, this is still a highly poignant and important film. We who live today should count, and guard, our blessings.

"Into the Arms of Strangers", directed by Mark Jonathan Harris, is a loving account of what parents resort to do in order to save their children from a tragedy that was looming over Europe. Having missed this film when it was first released, we caught up with it in the DVD format that has been lovingly transferred to that medium.

The story of the "Kindertransport" is recounted by some of the children that participated in it. We watch them as they are today, and through pictures, and sometimes on those old newsreels and films where they are captured as children in Germany, and the countries where the prosecution of Jews took an ugly turn.

Our heart goes to some of these older people that speak with such dignity in spite of what was done to them and their families. It's a tribute to the people who tell us what happened to them in the way they express their experiences without venom, or malice. After all, these persons showcased in the documentary are all survivors, something that thousands other Jewish children didn't have the same fate.

One can only imagine what these individuals went through at such an early life, many without being able to speak English, or made themselves understood in the households that received them. Imagine a child separated from loving parents having to deal with a world gone mad. It speaks volumes the people that tells us their stories turned out to be the way they did!

Dame Judy Dench's narration works well in the context of the material being shown. Mark Jonathan Harris has made a valuable contribution to show the whole world how a mad man changed these children's lives, and their parents' forever.

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.

"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".

I watched this movie the other night and found it most moving. I think it should be widely shown as very few people know of the Kindertransport. The documentary is well done and tells a wonderful story of survival. It was such a pity that no other country, other than England, helped to save these children. I highly recommend everyone to see it, as it is a part of our history.