Forgotten Transports to Belarus
Director Lukas Pribyl
Countries
Duration 88 min
Synopsis
According to witnesses, war-time Belarus “smelled of blood, fire and vodka.” Out of 7.000 Czechs deported there, 22 survived. The film follows the fate of these men doggedly fighting for survival – in the ghettos or with partisans after escaping to the forests - employing much ingenuity, stamina and bravado. Breaking down our notion of a “Holocaust documentary”, this tribute to the human spirit is completely devoid of commentary, contemporary and make-believe footage and employs only impeccably researched time-and-place precise materials and fascinating words of the witnesses.
According to witnesses, war-time Belarus “smelled of blood, fire and vodka.” Out of 7.000 Czechs deported there, 22 survived. The film follows the fate of these men doggedly fighting for survival – in the ghettos or with partisans after escaping to the forests - employing much ingenuity, stamina and bravado. Breaking down our notion of a “Holocaust documentary”, this tribute to the human spirit is completely devoid of commentary, contemporary and make-believe footage and employs only impeccably researched time-and-place precise materials and fascinating words of the witnesses.