MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SEMINAR SERIES, THE: 2003 TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL: THE NAZI OFFICER'S WIFE {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in this series of seminars conducted by The Museum of Television & Radio as part of the 2003 Television Documentary Festival. Held in New York and hosted by assistant television curator Allen Glover, this seminar presents the world premiere of the documentary "The Nazi Officer's Wife," the story of a Jewish woman who escaped Nazi persecution by falsifying identity papers and lived out the war as a traditional German housewife, married to a Nazi party member. Glover introduces filmmaker Liz Garbus and says a few words about her previous work, including the feted documentary "The Farm: Angola," before she takes the stage. Garbus explains the subject of the film and thanks her crew members before introducing the program, which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 103762.)
After the screening, Glover brings Garbus, writer Jack Youngelson, the film's subject Edith Hahn Beer and Beer's daughter Angela Schluter to the stage for a panel discussion. Prompted by Glover, Garbus explains that the complex issues about war-time behavior raised in Beer's book, "The Nazi Officer's Wife," led to its use as a documentary subject. Youngelson discusses the complicated process of adapting a memoir into a documentary script. Beer tells of the postwar life of Pepi Rosenfeld, who plays a large role in Beer's story as told in the documentary. Schluter explains how her mother's secret life during the war years affected decisions she made throughout her life. Glover comments on the remarkable amount of artifacts used in the film, which Beer says are now in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
Glover opens the floor to questions, and the following topics are covered: Schluter talks about her Jewish upbringing in London and describes the homesickness she felt as a young girl uprooted from Germany; Beer describes her reaction to seeing her life "on the big screen" after keeping her story secret for decades; Beer and Schluter update the audience on the whereabouts and health of Beer's sisters, who fled to Palestine before the Nazis invaded Austria; an audience member tells how the publicity received by Beer's story reunited her family with Beer, who is a cousin. Beer then clarifies several points for an audience member: she talks about her ignorance of the concentration camps during the war, and how she learned of them at the end of the war from Thomas Mann's broadcasts on "The Voice of America"; she explains that the Jews she knew in Austria truly believed that the camps were for relocation purposes; and she tells how Pepi, a half-Jewish man, escaped Nazi persecution. Beer explains that prisoners in the camps were allowed to send and receive letters. An audience member praises the documentary, in particular the way in which the footage incorporated gives the viewer the sense of following Beer through her life. Director/producer Liz Garbus explains the reason she and her team chose to include her asking Beer questions at the end of the film. Beer's daughter Angela Schluter tells the audience about her difficult relationship with her father, Werner Vetter, and discusses what happened to him after he divorced Beers. Glover thanks the panelists for their participation.
Details
- NETWORK: Paley
- DATE: April 30, 2003 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:09:09
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:93634
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Allen Glover … Moderator
- Edith Hahn Beer … Panelist
- Liz Garbus … Panelist
- Jack Youngelson … Panelist
- Angela Schluter … Panelist
- Thomas Mann
- Pepi Rosenfeld
- Werner Vetter