Testaments to the Enduring Power of Memory

David Crumm, Editor of Read the Spirit, just posted a review for the recent DVD release of Belzec. Here's a taste of what Mr. Crumm had to say:

In 1985, filmmaker Guillaume Moscovitz was moved by Claude Lanzmann's masterwork on the Holocaust, "Shoah"—a 10-hour documentary that focused mainly on real people who lived near the Nazi concentration camps. Belzec is included briefly in Lanzmann's epic film, but Moscovitz decided around 2002 that Belzec's mysteries deserved a separate, feature-length documentary.

I agree after having watched "Belzec"—including some portions of the film that I viewed twice and even three times to catch small details.

"Belzec" opens with Heinrich Himmler's chilling claim that the Holocaust would represent "a glorious page of our history that has never been written—and shall never be written." The attempt to erase all traces of the crimes at Belzec were in keeping with Himmler's goal. The grand scale of the genocide would be followed by erasure and, finally, a complete revision of world history.

First and foremost, Lanzmann's and Moscovitz's films are testaments to the enduring power of memory. Yes, they raise horrific questions about how much neighbors of this camp knew during the Final Solution! In fact, we learn through Moscovitz's interviews, these neighbors knew precisely what was happening!

Most importantly, though, the film invites us, as viewers, to actively help in the reconstruction of memory.

Read the full review at Read the Spirit

You can buy Belzec on DVD here: Menemsha Store