Europa Europa: Film Studies Essay

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Updated: Feb 3rd, 2024

Introduction

Europa Europa is a 1990 movie outlining the autobiography of Solomon Perel, a Jew who lived in Germany during the reign of Hitler and managed to survive the persecutions of the Nazis. Directed by Agnieszka Holland in German language, this chef-d’oeuvre portrays Solomon as a Hitler boy though he was a Jew.

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In 1938 when Solomon was 13 years old, his family lived in Germany when the Nazis attacked them, killed his sister, and forced his parents and two brothers to flee to Poland in search of safety.

In Poland, the Germans attacked them again and he escaped into the Soviet orphanage where he stayed for two years to avoid confrontation with the German soldiers since he was a Jew.

When the Germans attacked the Soviet orphanage, they captured Solomon and used him as an interpreter for he pretended to be a German called Josef Peters.

The Nazis recruited Solomon Perel as one of the Hitler youths for they considered him a hero. During the Russian attack, Solomon Perel surrendered to them and his brother rescued him and eventually became a happy emigration to Israel.

The Experience of the Jews

The director of the movie depicts the experiences of how Jews survived during the reign of Adolf Hitler. He uses the Solomon’s autobiography to give an insight of what exactly happened to the Jews who were scattered all over Europe in order to save themselves from the attacks of the Nazis.

The movie shows that Solomon and the family lived in Germany at the age of 13 years when the Nazis attacked Jews forcing them to migrate to Poland. Before they could settle in Poland properly, the Nazis invaded Poland making his family to separate.

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Solomon and his brother headed towards the Soviet where he separated with his brother. Having no option, Solomon stayed in a Soviet orphanage for a period of two years wondering where his parents had gone (Hughes Para. 3).

To come back to Germany, he pretended to be one of a minority ethnic group of German and they recruited him as one of the Hitler’s youths to attack other Jews. These were the experiences of the many Jews during the reign of Hitler.

Historical, Social, and Economic Background

The historical setting of the movie is during the period of Second World War when the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler dominated the Germany. The Nazis wanted to exterminate Jews from Germany and therefore they went all over Europe hunting for them.

Various European states were fighting for supremacy and that is why the Nazis attacked both Poland and Soviet countries for they wanted military domination. The social settings of the movie portrays that the Germans were racists, because they required everybody to have a certificate of racial purity.

When Solomon was in the camp of Hitler’s youth, he had to conceal his circumcision identity as a Jew and hide his certificate of racial purity lest the Nazis realized and persecuted him. Racial discrimination was at its peak to the extent of determining racial purity of the Germans to classify Germans according to their racial purity.

The economic setting of the movie shows that the Jews were poor since Solomon’s father was a shoemaker and the family depended on him. Moreover, Solomon had to survive for two years in an orphanage meaning that many kids were surviving for they had lost or separated with their parents due to the persecutions by the Nazis.

This depicts that Jews lived in poverty before and during the persecutions, because they had to migrate constantly in search of safer places where they could settle.

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Relevance of the Movie

The film is relevant to the contemporary world since it gives an in-depth view of the experiences of the Jews when the Nazis persecuted them during the Second World War.

When Jews watch the movie, it reminds them of the injustices that they faced and the world felt their need to have their own country and established Israel in order to avert future persecutions.

In the view of the persecutions, the United States and the United Nations do not want Jews to undergo the same kind of persecutions and that is why they have established a home of Jews, the country of Israel.

Conclusion

The Europa Europa movie reflects the experiences of the Jews during the Second World War that led to the establishment of the Israel state as a home of Jews because they were scattered all over the world.

The movie is relevant to the peace and conflict studies as it shows how the conflicts emerged, its progression and eventually peace settlement when the Jews established their nation.

The experiences of the persecutions that Jews faced are very important in addressing future conflicts that may arise, for instance, the Israel-Palestine conflicts may deteriorate to persecutions of the Jews who are the minority group among the Arabs.

Therefore, the historical background of the Jews is going to shape future policies of the United Nations and the United States for they have the capacity to protect the Jews through policymaking.

Works Cited

Holland, Agnieszka, dir. Europa Europa. Central Cinema Company Film, 1990. Film.

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Hughes, Anthony. “.” International Movie Database. 2011. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'Europa Europa: Film Studies'. 3 February.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Europa Europa: Film Studies." February 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/europa-europa-film-studies-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "Europa Europa: Film Studies." February 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/europa-europa-film-studies-essay/.


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