When the voices fall silent
The film provides insight and guidance for educational work in schools with regard to neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic tendencies in society. Based on the narration of an individual fate from the book by Maria Vajta Klamer "Flucht vor dem Mord an einem Volk" (Flykten från ett folkmord), experiences of the Holocaust are revealed, and their historical context is explored with regard to the present.
The plot of the film
During the Second World War, the young Jewish mother Deborah lives in the Warsaw Ghetto with her son Adam. She soon realizes that they have no chance of survival if they stay there. They have to flee. A non-Jewish Polish woman, Helena, takes them into her home, putting her own life at risk. Helena hides them outside the Jewish ghetto. Leon and Ester were still children when they were taken to one of the most notorious concentration camps. They lost everything. They would never see their families, their homes, their country again, and both their freedom and their youth have been taken from them.
The author visits a school to use her book to talk about difficult issues such as the inherent equal value of all human life and how this can be constrained by ideologically motivated violence. One student is captured by Maria's words and then delves deeper into the subject which offers a hopeful conclusion in light of some shocking footage of the film.
The Swedish National Organization for Holocaust Education produced this documentary to provide educators with a pedagogical tool for teaching about the Holocaust, World War II and human rights. First shown in 2021, the film was shot in Gothenburg, Uppsala, Warsaw and Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and includes numerous historical visual documents.