Who Will Write Our History (2018) Reviews

• Doc and recreated scenes describe the archive of Warsaw Jewish life under the Nazis

  maurice_yacowar2018-08-31

  Who Will Write Our History USA, 2018, 96 minutes Jewish life and death in the Warsaw Ghetto was remarkably recorded and preserved by one history teacher, Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum, and his cadre of dedicated friends who created the Oyneg Shabbes (i.e., "Joys of Sabbath") Archive. It comprises 60,000 pages of writings, posters, announcements, photographs, product labels, doodles and other memorabilia. This film is based on historian Dr. Samuel Kassow's book on the archive. Dr. Ringelblum's project undertook to record the minutiae of the Jewish people's lives in Warsaw, from their prewar cultural richness, through the suffering under the Nazi occupation, to the tragic defeat of the uprising. "Will the Germans write our history," he asked, "or will we?" Leaving it to the Germans would have left the Jews to be eternally defined by German propaganda. The intention grew from recording the day to day lives of the Jews in Warsaw, then detailing the gathering storm of persecution, and finally providing evidence for the postwar prosecution. The amassed material was buried in three caches in a cellar bellow a cellar. Recovering the two we have was like an archaeological probe under the ruins of Warsaw. Ironically, a church spire was used to locate the right ruins. Throughout the film, such poetic moments ruffle the wash of horrors. Though this film is commonly labelled "documentary," it actually interweaves documentary footage (in black and white) with dramatic reconstruction of scenes (in colour). Polish actors play the historic figures, with American actors (e.g., Joan Allen, Adrien Brody) doing the English voice-over. The actors read the diaries from the Archive, but they're still actors playing roles. That certainly does not diminish the realism of the drama, nor its significance and emotional impact. The film was shot in Poland, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Its languages are English, Polish and most pointedly Yiddish, the momma loshen threatened with extinction. It was written and directed by the American, Roberta Grossman, who has worked in film and TV documentary for around 30 years. Her titles include In the Footsteps of Jesus (2003), Women on Top: Hollywood and Power (2003), Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (2005) and Hava Nagilla: The Movie (2012). Her own career suggests she may have found some identification with the character who brings us into the film's world, from the opening narration to the epilogue: Rachel Auerbach, a Warsaw social and arts critic whom Ringelblum persuaded to stay in Warsaw to help run a soup kitchen. There's a curious touch in the title. Dr. Kassow's book asks the question that inspired Ringelblum's project: "Who will write our history?" The film drops the question mark. For now we know the answer. The Oyneg Shabbes heroes managed to write the history. This film passes it around. We should also observe how timely this history proves to be. It appears when Poland has been attempting to evade its historic responsibility for the Warsaw horrors. Worse, it recalls the kind of racist dictatorship that seems to be stirring itself back into life today.