Oct 27: "Vienna's Lost Daughters"

I met a friend for lunch today so that we could discuss a film that we will be presenting for my Austrian history and culture course in a couple of weeks. It’s a documentary called “Vienna’s Lost Daughters”, which shows the lives of a number of Jewish Austrian women now living in the United States. When they were only children, these women were sent away to England by their parents before the start of WWII so that they could escape the Nazi concentration camps. It was amazing to see how they created new lives for themselves in a foreign country while having to live with their memories of their families and their previous lives in Austria. Most of these women never saw their family again after they left Austria. Family and friends they left behind were taken away to be murdered in the camps. In the interviews with these women, they described their love for Austria as being bittersweet – while they really cherish their culture, language, and traditions, their Austrian identity is inseparable from the war’s terrible impact. While some of the speakers freely mixed English with German, some did not want to speak in German because the memories were too painful.

But all made a new home for themselves in the U.S., building their family and circle of friends. The film also showed the audience the relationships between these women and their children and grandchildren. The families are tightly knit, but the children and grandchildren struggle with their parents’/grandparents’ past. Many spoke of how difficult it is to grasp this concept from second-hand experience, but still feel a deep emotional impact of this history since it is a part of their own story too.

It was an incredibly thought-provoking film. When I think of how I sometimes miss home and everyone there who is important to me, I realize how lucky I am. I can talk face-to-face to those at home more than once a week, instantly send pictures and stories of what I am doing, and will be able to return home safely when I’m finished my studies. The stress of settling into a new place here can’t begin to compare to the confusion and loneliness that these women felt when moving to a new country – a move that was not made by choice, where they lived away from their families, never knowing when they might receive word from home. And then the disastrous news of hearing that their families were gone…

If you have some time, you should see it.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDPlkRCdJWM