Film Review: Hitlerjunge Salomon

Director: Agnieszka Holland

Based on the true story of Solomon Perel who released an autobiography of his life during the second world war when he hid his Jewish heritage to avoid capture and became part of Hitler's youth. The film was released under the name 'Europa Europa' in the UK but was sometimes confused with the Lars von Trier film Europa so many reverted to the original German name.

Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider) is a Jewish teenager living in Nazi Germany and has to escape naked on the day of his bar mitzvah to avoid the Nazi's attacking Jewish homes and shops. His father originally came from Lodz in Poland so he decides to take the family there. His family then sends him and his brother East towards the Russians who are less likely to persecute the Jews but they are seperated and Solomon starts a long journey to survive during the bleak Second World War.

Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider)

The story of Solomon Perel has divided people for many years with some saying it showed an amazing will to survive to go through what he did whereas many others accuse him of turning his back on his religion and his own people. At the end of the day we are all selfish people on some level and at some point your own will to survive will kick in and you may act in your own best interests. Other critics said it did embellish upon the book and made it more interesting for the screen with him not actually coming as close as it seems to being caught as a Jew by the Nazi's.

Where the film should be lauded is for its depiction of ordinary people, this film refuses to make sweeping judgements about groups of people purely based on what history has told us. Not every Jewish person was good and the victim just as not every Nazi was evil at the time, many sympathized with the plight of Jewish people and other victims of the regime. It was refreshing to see this and the acting from the star Marco Hofschneider was impressive as he is very much left to carry the film, this was very much a depiction of his time during the war and nothing else.

2.5/4 Alternative look at one Jew's experience of the Second World War