It’s undeniable that the reign of Hitler during WWII and the Nazi regime is one of the worst and most heartbreaking periods in human history. Many people know about Hitler’s propaganda machine, a coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, but what they don’t know about is the true history behind a film simply entitled, “The Ghetto.” The practically unmarked footage was found years after the war and because of its rare depiction of Warsaw during the occupation has been used in various documentaries for decades but not till now has the real truth behind the footage been examined.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

What filmmaker Yael Hersonski discovered under closer examination is that the film was actually staged. It is not truthful footage. The film it self is actually a work of propaganda shot in the Warsaw ghetto by SS cameramen, forcing Jewish prisoners to act out certain scenes. The mystery behind the exact intentions of the Nazis is unclear and what Hersonski is trying to get to the bottom of in this documentary. But their intentions would appear to be to show two sides of Warsaw, starving Jews and privileged ones in order to present the ghetto’s occupants as an inhumane community worthy of termination.

The film begins by showing footage from “The Ghetto,” along with Hersonski’s narration describing the context of this horrific footage. The footage is in black & white, grainy 16mm and is stunning in both it’s imagery and content. What the filmmaker does, which is not only extraordinarily, brave and daring is that she has gathered a group of Holocaust survivors, who were children living in Warsaw when the film was shot, to watch the shocking footage. Some of the most honest and heartbreaking moments of the film come from watching these innocent souls, all of who are now senior citizens. Watching these people relive this horrific time in their lives is both fascinating and a bit intrusive but Hersonski does her best to honor these survivors rather than exploit them and it lend an authenticity to the mysterious footage.

The film is tied together by journals that were found, which belonged to a ghetto social leader and depict a man who was forced to betray his people in fear of his own safety. It’s the inclusion of the journals that lends a context to the footage and is invaluable to investigating the true nature of the footage. Along with the journals, the filmmaker begins to shed light on the mysteries of the footage and even at one point shows us a moment where we can clearly see the reflection of a SS cameraman standing in the background filming the staged documentary.

Also vital to the film’s investigation was the testimony of the only Nazi cinematographer ever identified to be involved with the production. His interview not only reveals the true nature of the filmmaker’s intentions but is also chilling in its candor. You truly feel the pain and guilt on this man’s face due to the horrific acts that he was involved in over a half a century ago. Is remorse is sincere but in know way makes up for the travesty that he participated in.

The idea that the art of film was perverted in order to falsely suggest that some Jews enjoyed “the good life” in the ghetto is appalling and should be offensive to anyone. Something else that is truly disturbing about this film is the idea that a bulk of the people that you see in the lost footage were horribly killed in a mass genocide not long after these images were taking. The fact that they were essentially" waiting there to die" is almost incomprehensible. Equally chilling is watching the testimonies of the survivors and realizing that to them the people in the images were real, tangible entities that they knew personally. It’s difficult to imagine what they were feeling while watching this film.

In the end, filmmaker Yael Hersonski had done a brave and difficult thing, she has wonderfully married the idea of making a film that is not only educational but that also spotlights an important but otherwise unknown subject. It’s no doubt that the images in the film are horrific but they are also important. They remind us of a terrible time in human history and teach us that equality and decent human behavior is the only way that a society can thrive and survive.

A Film Unfinished is out August 18, 2010.