08 Dec Europa Europa
Europa Europa, WWII holocaust movie in German with subtitles
(1990) “Europa Europa” is the true story of a teenaged Jewish boy living in Germany who, in order to survive, passes as an Aryan and becomes a member of the Hitler Youth. This is a German language film with subtitles. It’s original title is “Hitlerjunge Salomon,” translated to “Hitler Youth Salomon.”
The man’s name who lived this amazing story is Solomon Perel. His autobiography “Ich war Hitlerjunge Salomon” (I Was Hitler Youth Salomon) differs in details, but the events are very much the same.
Solly’s biggest challenge in hiding his Jewishness was to hide that he was circumcised. It seems that in wartime Germany none of the Aryans had been so it would have been a (literally) dead giveaway.
The most horrifying part of the movie was when Solly was in Hitler Youth Class being taught how to recognize a Jew. One of the reasons Solly could pass for Aryan was not because he was blonde but because he was so handsome. Everyone was attracted to him for that reason. He had to compartmentalize the Jewish part of himself and walk a thin line, forming superficial friendships just to get by.
Interesting is that when the war and his days with the Hitler Youth were over, Solomon had no idea about the concentration camps. He thought his parents might still be alive. They were not, nor was his sister, but two of his brothers were.
Here is an article I found online written by a student for her holocaust class. After the war, Solomon moved to Israel where he still lives today.
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