The People vs. Fritz Bauer (awkwardly similar in title to The People V. O.J. Simpson, but commonalities end there), is a bit of a misnomer since Fritz Bauer is not the one on trial. The famed German attorney general later went on to orchestrate the Auschwitz trials in the 1960s, but this story takes place in 1957 when he receives word that Adolf Eichmann is hiding out in Argentina. His enthusiasm to catch Eichmann and put him in trial in Germany is not matched by those around him, particularly a number of high-ranking officials who have a vested stake in ensuring that the war criminal does not name names.

It seems that films about the way that non-Jewish Europeans acted during and after the Holocaust are almost as prominent as those set during the Holocaust. Sure, Schindler’s List and The Pianist are the ones that went on to win Oscars, but there’s something to be said for reflection and for showcasing the way that the mindset of the times is hard to overcome. The Polish film Aftermath, released in the United States in November 2013, told one such story, of two brothers targeted for dredging up their hometown’s vicious role in the murder of its Jewish population. The French film The Round-Up, starring Jewish actress Mélanie Laurent, spotlighted the eagerness with which the French authorities rid themselves of their unwanted Jews, with little prompting necessary from the conquering Nazi forces.

The anti-Semitism of The People vs. Fritz Bauer is not nearly as overt. Bauer, who was born in Germany and returned from Sweden after the Holocaust, was Jewish, and he is notably the only Jew in such a position of civil service when the film begins. He is adored by many and has friends, but he also knows that there are those within the government and judicial system with Nazi leanings who will stop at nothing to make sure that their complicity and guilt is not brought to light. Bauer enlists Karl Angermann (an idealistic young prosecutor, a fictional composite of those dedicated to Bauer’s cause,) as his ally, fully aware that he can trust no one else.

History knows that Eichmann was ultimately put on trial in Israel and hanged for his crimes. This film doesn’t offer too much suspense in its insular universe in terms of how events will play out, but it does paint a harrowing picture of the struggle for change in postwar Germany. Bauer knows that contacting Mossad for help in tracking down Eichmann may be considered treason, but worse still, Mossad is uninterested at first, telling him that they need more solid proof to go after this lead. Bauer wants Eichmann brought to justice, but in doing so he also wants to put Germany as a whole on trial, a goal that seems unachievable given the many obstacles in his way.

This portrait of the 1950s bears some resemblance to a recent Oscar-winning film, The Imitation Game. Though the plot primarily involves Europe and the Nazis, the true villain is the backwards nature of laws and society at the time. A conniving enemy of Bauer’s mentions early on that they have a dossier on the Jewish civil servant which includes multiple arrests for male prostitution. As if being Jewish wasn’t enough of a crime, charges of homosexuality could really destroy a man. The hope for contemporary audiences would be that widely-supported homophobia and anti-Semitism are both things of the past, though recent world events have shown that it’s hardly the case.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer won big at the German Film Awards, scoring trophies for Outstanding Feature Film as well as for director Lars Kraume, supporting actor Ronald Zehrfeld, who plays Angermann, and its screenplay. Don’t expect this film to take home any Oscars – it’s a decent drama but not in the same category as recent German Oscar nominees like The Lives of Others or The White Ribbon, both of which also addressed lingering suppression after World War II in Germany. This is an important story but doesn’t even feel like the most interesting part of its protagonist’s life, in which, at the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, he later finally had the chance to put the nation of Germany of trial.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer opens in American theaters on August 19.

Image: Still from The People vs. Fritz Bauer

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But, against all odds, Jewish life is coming back to Germany, predominantly to the capital, to Berlin. Israeli students and young professionals appear to be very attracted to Berlin’s multicultural and laid-back way of life. According to recent estimates there are 20.000 Israelis living in Berlin – with rising tendency.

How does it feel for Israelis to live in Berlin? Were there reservations prior to moving to a city from where over 50.000 Jews once have vanished? “No”, says Dinah, a language student from Tel Aviv, “I do not constantly think about the Holocaust just because I am in Berlin now. I barely think about it anyway.”

“The Shoah plays no part in our daily life here”. Lior adds “at least not anymore.” Dinah and Lior are a couple and in their early twenties. They met in Berlin while attending German class. Lior, a good-looking young freelance writer and blogger from Haifa, always knew that one day he would be living in Berlin. “I wanted to be a part of this unique city ever since I can remember”, Lior’s Grandfather who survived the Holocaust in Poland and who later emigrated to Israel, was appalled by his grandson’s desire to move to Germany. “But Berlin is not Germany, as they say. It’s different”, Lior argues with a smirk. His parents always encouraged him to try his luck in Berlin. Europe is safe for Jews – isn’t it? After what happened in Paris and Copenhagen, European Jews are alert. There is a growing anti-Semitism in certain parts of European society that no one can deny. Antiquated views, ignorance, and animosity towards Israel and its government bring about hatred and discord. And even though the number of anti-Semites in Europe is still vanishingly small, the impact of our personal sense of security is grave.

Dinah admits that her family in Israel would be relieved if she decided to come home. They are worried. Dinah and Lior both simultaneously shake their heads. They will not leave. They feel save in Berlin, despite the recent events.

Scene change. Kollwitzplatz. A picturesque town square in the Prenzlauer Berg district. Yael and her husband Daniel are both in their mid-thirties. They met as students in Israel and moved to Berlin six years ago. Being from Israel, they say, was never something they hid from the locals or from other expats. On the contrary, they visited the nearby synagogue at Rykestrasse, met at the Kosher Deli and spoke Hebrew openly. They never felt unsafe in Prenzlauer Berg, which is located in the eastern part of Berlin. Unfortunately, things have changed. “We sense a subtle anti-Semitism among European Muslims and some people on the far left”, says Yael. She even had some unpleasant encounters whilst shopping in other parts of the city. “One day, a group of young men overheard a friend and me as we were having a conversation in Hebrew. Out of the blue they began to curse at us in a mix of Arabic and German. I knew it was about Palestine. It is always about Palestine.” Luckily, such incidents are extremely rare. Both the Jewish and the Muslim community are anxious to live together peacefully. And still, Yael now avoids speaking Hebrew in public.

In spite of negative predictions for the safety of Jews in Europe, Jewish life and culture is flourishing in Berlin. Within the old Jewish quarters one can get the best hummus in town. Kosher Delis, restaurants and cafes spring up, events and festivals with typical Israeli music and food take place in all parts of the city, and even a magazine is being published. The magazine named ‘Spitz’ is written exclusively for Israeli expats in Berlin. The (Israeli) community is growing steadily. Within Germany, Berlin has become an enclave for people from Israel. If you listen carefully, you can hear a variety of different languages in the streets. Apart from German, English, Spanish, Turkish, and Arabic you can also hear Hebrew all across the city. At mild summer nights you can see Arabs and Israelis sit together in the city parks, blithely, smoking shisha and laughing lustily. They come together in a respectful manner and manage to see behind each other’s curtain. Far away from home it is easier to reduce prejudices.

I am very Jewish in Berlin. A sentence you get to hear quite often. Israelis, who used to live a secular life at home, suddenly become religious once they are in Berlin. They discover their Jewishness and begin to value their religion and spirituality highly. There is even talk of a “new exodus to the promised city of Berlin”. The city, too, profits from the huge attraction that it has on young people from Israel. Berlin needs this diversity to thrive.

Some Israelis are going to return home one day. Some of them will return with only good memories, some of them won’t. However, it is fair to say that to Israelis Berlin is more than just a cheap party metropolis. It is a place of history. And to some, Berlin is their very own journey to self-discovery.

Gina Chaja Reimann is a postgrad of communication science and media studies, and works as a freelance writer in Berlin.

 (Image: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com)

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This is pretty ingenious: John Denno, a 16-year-old from Liverpool in England, has created a series of Lego dioramas about Nazi Germany and World War II for a school assignment. The project is sensitively executed and surprisingly moving, with models covering everything from Hitler’s rise to power, to Kristallnacht, to Auschwitz.

The project required a visual component, but Denno was concerned that his poor drawing skills would put him at a disadvantage, so he decided to build the sets with Lego, “because that is what I’m good at.” He told The Huffington Post, “I can’t draw for the life of me so I thought this would be an interesting way to present the project… I’ve been building, animating and photographing Lego since I was very young.”

The lego scenes have gone viral thanks to reddit and imgur, educating many more than just Denno about the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. (You can view the complete set here.) Lego FTW.

(Images: John Denno, imgur)

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The British actor and director Richard Attenborough died yesterday at the age of 90. To American audiences, he’s best known for having directed the acclaimed 1982 bio-pic Gandhi, and his star-turn as scientist and CEO John Hammond in Jurassic Park (i.e. the dude who reanimates the dino-DNA and gets them all into the mess to begin with). He got his showbiz start in the film unit of the British Royal Air Force during WWII, and was one of the most popular actors in Britain in the immediate post-war period.

Though Attenborough wasn’t Jewish, his family (which includes the legendary naturalist and journalist David Attenborough) has a touching and intimate Jewish connection: for seven years, they were the foster family to two Jewish sisters who fled Germany in the Kindertransport in 1939. In 2009, Attenborough told The Daily Mail about the arrival of Helga and Irene Bejach, and the profound impact they had on his family:

I will never forget when Helga and Irene first arrived at our home. They were two pale waifs with their pathetic little cases, aged ten and 12. They looked sad and ill. They were also nervous wrecks.

Their house in Germany had been smashed by Nazis with guns and their father taken away. After the girls had been with us for three weeks, my brothers David, John and I were called into the study by our parents.

… We realised, even though we boys were all quite young ourselves, how shocked and frightened the girls were. My parents always stood up and were counted wherever they saw an injustice being done. And the Kinderstransport was a great example of caring for human dignity, for racial tolerance and for compassion.

The three of us boys had no hesitation in taking Helga and Irene into our family. We really did see them as sisters, virtually from the time we were told they were going to live with us.

Initially, they were very reclusive, but they grew into attractive and confident young women. They helped shape our lives… We loved them and cherished them – and were so proud of them.

Read the full interview here.

(Photo: Lord Richard Attenborough attends the Galaxy British Book Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on April 9, 2008 in London, England. By Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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It’s a rare thing when a work of art makes me sit back and say, “Wow,” rarer still when it’s something Holocaust-related. The sheer volume of art that has been produced around the catastrophic events of WWII is overwhelming; but more than that, artists have a tendency to allow their emotions to rule unchecked, sure that the audience will forgive their indulgence; after all, it’s the Holocaust.

All this is to say that when Alexis Fishman’s Der Gelbe Stern (“The Yellow Star”) knocked me over sideways on Thursday afternoon at the New York Musical Theater Festival, I was as excited to be excited as I was charmed, thrilled, moved, and amused by her miraculous turn as Erika Stern, a fictional Weimar cabaret star performing for the last time in 1933 before a jealous, Nazi ex-lover shuts down her show. A mixture of original songs, stand-up comedy, and monologue, the show sparkles every bit as much as Fraulein Stern’s earrings under the spotlight.

For starters, Ms. Fishman, an Australian by birth, manages to convey the deep charisma crucial to pulling off her role as Berlin’s biggest cabaret star. She is laugh-out-loud funny with her Marlene Dietrich accent and her songs about the perfect boyfriend, Attila the Hun. She’s incredibly raunchy, too, in a way that conveys her delight with sex, rather than a two-dimensional performance of sexiness designed to appeal to the audience’s gaze. It’s a post-modern delight rather than a modernist one, but hey, I was into it! I only wished she had done something sexy with the Nazi flag; the forbiddenness of the swastika has, inadvertently, lent it an erotic quality that Fishman seems to know but not actualize. She is the person to do it.

There is real chemistry between Erika and her gay, closeted pianist, Otto, which makes for great fun. I was also reminded of the true pleasure one gets from watching a performer in a show they have themselves written; one feels the intelligence behind the work as a genuine part of the performance, rather than a performance of genuineness.

But the real brilliance of Der Gelbe Stern lies in Fishman’s masterful balancing of sentiment and irony. Just when you’re ready to relax into giggles, she elicits tears, and just when you’re ready to indulge those tears, she cracks the whip of her wit, as if to say, “Snap out of it!” It’s a truly masterful performance. Catch one of her two final shows on Monday, July 21. (Tickets here.)

Image credit: Hunter Canning

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• The Harvard basketball coach behind Linsanity? A Jewish kid from Scarsdale. [Tablet]

• H. Jon Benjamin returns as Archer tonight, proving yet again that neurosis and alcoholism are funniest when left in the hands of a Jew. [Slate]

• Jesus was Jewish??? [Huffington Post]

• Nazis still trying to steal Jewish artwork from beyond the grave. [Times of Israel]

• In other news, political women still subjected to games of hot-or-not. You stay classy, Germany. [Haaretz]

• Jon Stewart uses comedy against the NRA because logic and reason can’t seem to make a dent. [The Daily Show]

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• Trend alert: Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan spent the summer paddleboarding in the Hamptons.

• Anne Sinclair confirms she has split from Dominique Strauss-Kahn and is working overtime.

• An Iranian Paralympic discus thrower refused to shake Kate Middleton’s hand when she presented his award, but it’s only because she’s a woman.

• There was a yarmulke flash mob in Berlin this weekend…

• This is what Einstein’s desk looked like when he died.

• Bruce Willis plays old Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and he really, really doesn’t want to talk about time travel.

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• True story: Visa applications to Kazakhstan have increased since Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 Borat film.

• Sarah Silverman talks about prepping for her nude scene with Michelle Williams in their new film Take This Waltz.

• Jewish food festivals in the South are growing in popularity, and drawing a lot of visitors after church.

• Watch the Mile End team eat (and drink) their way through Russ & Daughters and Sammy’s Roumanian—though we could have done without the music.

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• If you accidentally ruin a Jewish woman’s wig, prepare to go onto The People’s Court, and possibly pay $3000 dollars.

• A list of celebrities that have converted to Judaism.

• Germany has agreed to double it’s contribution to Holocaust survivors.

• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in England on Tuesday.

• Scenes from Miami’s yearly Art Basel art festival.

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