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TURNING AMERICAN: A GERMAN IMMIGRANT'S STORY
57:30 minutes
Try to imagine what it would be like to grow up in Nazi Germany...
Try to imagine wanting to join the Hitler Youth....
To have your father fight and be killed for the Third Reich...
Try to Imagine harboring feelings of shame and guilt throughout your life due to your German heritage...
These and many more fascinating stories are explored in this powerful documentary.
This program focuses in-depth on the stories of three individuals, two of whom are now US citizens. Gerhard Geyer was three years old when WWII broke out in his small German town of Bad Neuheim. He openly shares his wartime experiences of dealing with hunger, fear and death as well as his deep desire to join the Hitler Youth. Also, he talks bout his father's uncertain loyalties to the Nazi Party and the shame and guilt he feels to this day about the Holocaust.
Ellen Cohen also was a small child when Hitler ruled Germany. She talks intensely about the devastation of war in a large city like Berlin and how she and her family spent years living in an air raid shelter while illegally listening to the BBC. Ellen also shares stories of her mother's brave assistance to escaping Jews. And she talks from personal experience about important historical milestones, such as the surprise partitioning of Berlin and the subsequent construction of the Berlin Wall.
Hans Kotlenga has to move nine times during the war as a result of the ongoing destruction of his city. He missed out on joining the Hitler Youth because he had no permanent home address. Hans spent the war years hungry and without basic necessities such as shoes. His father died fighting for the Nazi cause. And approximately 50 percent of his classmates died during the war. He still lives in Germany.
None of the people interviewed in this documentary has ever spoken publicly about their war-time experiences before now. This program offers a rare glimpse into the lives of children raised in Nazi Germany and the profound affects this upbringing has had on the rest of their lives.
Produced/Directed/Edited by Audrey Geyer & Kevin Lindenmuth
Original Music by Bob Mares
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