The story of the Weber children made the front pages of newspapers all over America in 1946 when they finally made it to freedom. They were seven Jewish children who despite living in Germany throughout World War II had stayed together and survived. UnBroken is their story told by Beth Lane, the daughter of the youngest of those children. She traces the footsteps of her family from their home in Germany all the way to their arrival in the US.
It begins with the marriage of her grandparents, Alexander and Lina Weber. Remarkably her grandfather was Catholic and converted to marry her grandmother, which considering the political climate in Germany at the time must mean it was a great love, for him to have made such a sacrifice. But as the rise of anti-Semitism took hold, the parents were both arrested with Dad sent to the first of the concentration camps and tortured, but eventually released. Their mother was openly defiant, helping people escape, which was illegal. Eventually she was taken away to a Auschwitz where she perished. The family though was fortunate to have kind German neighborhood fruit sellers, Arthur and Paula Schmidt, as friends. They hid all seven children on their farm in a tiny laundry hut just 60 kilometers east of Berlin, while the war raged all around them. Told by their father to stay together no matter what, the children somehow managed to stay out of sight of all the villagers for two whole years.
When the war ended, their father who had survived by renouncing his Jewish conversion, tried to reunite with his children to emigrate to the US, but found that his German identity made that impossible, so he told them to identify as orphans in the displaced persons’ camps. It worked, but it also ultimately tears them apart when they make it to America and they are adopted separately. They would not be reunited for another 40 years.
The film is told by the children now in their 80s and 90s, all still living except for the son, whose diaries are used in voice-over to add his thoughts and memories. It is a very effective way to tell their story. As Beth Lane takes her journey through Germany and meets people at the sites of the major events of their lives you can feel that much of what she is learning about her family is new and is painful. Their story is very timely. With the rise of anti-Semitism, both here and abroad, it is a good reminder that there are good people out there who are willing to put themselves at risk to do the right thing. There is one very telling moment though where she asks some young people in the street if they would do what the fruit sellers has done. One young woman says she hopes she would have. A young man who is a refugee is a lot more certain that he would do it without a doubt. It is a very effective documentary and one that I highly recommend.
In theaters Feb 21st.