For more information about this documentary, click here.
For more information about this documentary, click here.
A powerful dialogue between children of perpetrators of the Holocaust and children of survivors.
For more information about this documentary, click here.
For more information about this documentary, click here.
(43) Beryl Hartman, January 7, 2013 12:23 AM
these stories need to be told and retold
where are the holocaust deniers now I doubt whether they would watch this revealing video
Anonymous, January 7, 2013 7:21 PM
how can one put it in the same sentence the perpetrators and the victimes.
We will never be the same no matter what we do, by hatred alone we are NOT in their company and never will be. Have we killed them, hurt them, touch them? Do we not realize who we are and what has been done to us, our parents, brothers sisters and children. Is that not part of forgiveness not hating them, Are they proud of their heritage, List, Mozart, Beethoven. Yes certainly, it is THEIR heritage they say. THIS yes these murderers and a full nation of them are also their heritage and so much mor so.
(42) Nicole, November 15, 2012 3:31 AM
The other dark side of war
After watching hitler's children (maya productions), i'm so empathetic for the offspring of the monsters who tortured Jewish men, women, elders and children. But why must the children of these monsters be tortured when it was out of their control? The Germans I know do not hide that their history is shameful but shows that power of such malicious leaders (like N korea today) can control a nation. What the Germans don't publicize through the media/movies is that there were millions of soldiers tortured and killed AFTER the war. I hope this dark side of the Americans, French and Russians are told before all these survivors are dead.
Ellen, December 19, 2012 11:13 AM
Germans now copy what has been done in the past
In Germany and in many other countries now once more, Jewish traditions are under attack. Circumcision, kosher meat and fowl, may not long be possible there. These children may be innocent, they too, have a role to play when it comes to preventing these 'circumstances' from recurring, as now seems likely. They can become focussing points for resistance to Nazism and anti-judaism, and in so doing clear their family's name, as far as possible.
(41) richard, October 14, 2012 8:32 PM
Yimach Shemom VeZichrom!
May their name be obliterated forever. As the late Chief Rabbi Jakobovits answered a BBC reporter who asked if he could forgive the Germans "Nobody has given me a mandate to forgive. Only those who were murdered could forgive but they are not here to ask"
(40) Batya Bernstein, July 19, 2012 6:50 AM
I am daughter of a holocaust survivor
I still suffering the consequences of this massive, cruel masacre. I dont have any famyly. My father was on awshitz and i saw him cryng every night before he went to bed. My father had toeat a rotten cat in order to survive. I suffer too when I saw my father in YOM KIPOR lighting a zelihot candle for each of his members of his family killing in the gas chambers pouring tears of pain. I am alone,no family at all. Seems that this generation is forgeting or not give the importance that is about YOM HASHUA how important is to preserve this horrible masacre for the coming generations.I am sorry for my mispelling but I am writing with my heart. It is so sad that there is people denied that the holocaust existed. So my question to them is SO WHERE IS FAMILY?
(39) Anonymous, July 17, 2012 4:46 PM
what to do
Amalek is all around us. We need to fight them by remembering to do what the Rebbe said to do: acts of kindness and mitzvot. That is how we will and are now bringing light into the darkness and good into the world. What a miracle we Jews are. What a blessing we have received.
(38) Anonymous, July 17, 2012 12:28 AM
And in the end...
The Jews have Israel - a homeland of their own; Germany will never live down its past. Jews can ever forget what Germany did to their people. Germany survives, makes progress, but its shame will last forever.
(37) Richard Marcus, July 16, 2012 10:11 PM
never...never...not even in a 100 generations...
must Jews forget what Germany did to them. Forgive? Forgive wilful murder of mothers, children, people of all ages for the single reason that they believed in one God? Sorry, but it's unforgivable in my book. The burden will be carried by the Germans till the end of days. We Jews are still talking about when we were slaves in ancient Egypt! Germany doesn't have a chance!! They wrote their own history. Now they have to live with that shadow over them. It isn't going to go away...ever.
Batya, July 19, 2012 6:52 AM
you are, so right
Anonymous, July 19, 2012 2:42 PM
G-d will slowly answer Germany ... and Europe as a whole
Western Europe (Germany) is sick. The socialist cancer is eating its defences away. Their nervous system does not work and gives no alarm signal, they are becoming numb. Nihilism and Islam are penetrating it like the AIDS virus. Europe is still not able to see that it is ill. When they finally open their eyes, it is too late. The infection is at the point of no return. The desease is terminal. The Jews who were murdered and exiled, who were intellectuals, hard working and industrious and brought prosperity and progress to their host countries have now slowly but surely been replaced with hordes of murderous, barbaric, illilterate Muslims, who have landed in Europe like bloodsucking parasites, eating away their prosperity and destroying their fagile demography. 6 million Jews are hereby replaced with 60 million Turks, Somalis, Iraqis, Moroccans, Wahabis, Salafis, Shiites .... etc.. etc... every burned down synagogue is replaced with a hundred Mosques with minarets looking like cruise missiles pointing at thier hearts. For every Jewish payot and beard their forcibly shaved ..... they have to now pay to maintain the beards of Salafi fundamentalists who suck away on their taxes and social welfare. For evey Tzaddik they murdered they have a thousand Imams preaching Jihad and blood in their cities and they don't know how to deal with them. Evey burned Torah scroll is replaced with millions of copies of the Koran teaching its hordes to how to murder and kill. I can go on and on to show how "mida k'neged mida" is applied to Europe by divine justice. The blood of Am Israel is crying out to G-d. IN His mercy G-d gave Europe time to repent , compensate and correct, but they refused. Anti-semitism continues in Europe, so divine justice will be applied, now Germany and the rest of Europe will know fully the meaning of the verse: "I will curse those who curse you". The final chapter of this episode has still not been written, but it soon will.
Anonymous, December 27, 2018 5:45 PM
this is true
(36) Anonymous, January 11, 2011 11:03 PM
Pain, but not the same
It is incredible that these people have to live with the pain of knowing that they are descendants of these evil people. I know personally that it is inconceivable that my own grandparents survived what they did. But to call those two pains the same is untrue. My pain has to do with what my nation has been undergoing for two millennium. The children of Nazis have completely different things to deal with. There are pain on both sides, but the pain is so different.
(35) Kip Gonzales, January 9, 2011 7:20 PM
Each generation is responsible for its own sins.
To (31) Chana, I think the descendents of Nazis should be completely informed of what went on in those days, and what their anscestors did or didn´t do, but even though they should be ashamed of what their family members did, should they be ashamed of THEMSELVES? Most were not even born in those days, and only heard about it later. What can they do about it? If I spit in the face of a great-grandchild of a Nazi, have I made the world a better place? Maybe that person is just as disgusted with Nazis as I am! When most Jews are asked what they first think of when they hear the word "Germans", many say, "Nazis". They would be surprised to see how few Nazi sympathisers there really are in Germany! (The rest of Europe has far more). The ones that are Neo-Nazis are that way because of their own inferiority complexes and fear of foreigners. They make the headlines in the papers, and the rest of the world thinks Germany is nothing but unrepentant Nazis. Nothing could be further than the truth. I would like to hear the experiences of Jewish people who have visited Germany in this time. Were they confronted with anti-semitism? I could imagine it much more in France or Hungary. Give the Germans of today a break. Nobody does as good research and documentaries about the Holocaust as they do. The only remarks I have heard that are negative are from the ones who resent Germany still paying for the Holocaust. One one side, it´s not a thing you can just drop and forget, but the younger generation asks why they should still have to pay (in taxes) for something that happened way before they were born.
(34) 2ndGen Survivor's Child, September 2, 2010 1:44 PM
A legacy's burden
It's difficult at times to be the child of a survivor - even harder to imagine being a child of a perpetrator. The actions of their family should not a burden for them to carry, but I understand how they feel - I would probably feel the same way. This is an opportunity to create awareness and remembrance. Carry forth a legacy of what to never do again.
(33) Me, October 15, 2009 6:59 PM
Blaming someone for the crime(s) of another, be they a relative or not, is very primitive thinking. And it is wrong -- both intellectually and morally.
(32) Marvin Coren, October 15, 2009 3:31 PM
I was married to one of Hitler's children
I believe that the designation "Hitler's Children" was a description of the children born to Jewish women prisoners and Nazi officers that were later put up for adoption by German Officers providing they were blond and blue eyed. My wife of many years was such a child and she suffered emotional and mental problems upon learning of this. I possess Nazi documentation of this process and adoption certificate bearing the symbols and swastika confirming this.
(31) Chana, October 14, 2009 12:10 AM
Deserved Guilt
The the decedents of The Nazis should very well feel ashamed of themselves.
(30) Susan, October 13, 2009 9:59 PM
The Holocaust-Glad this is here so I can post it everywhere I can find.
So horrible--I grieve for the families-the people who suffered at the hands of these demons that walked on earth in human form. I want to post it everywhere I possible can reach. People NEED to see and hear for themselves-Islam EVERYBODY. Before it happens again and they remain silent because they have believed the propaganda of people like Ahmadinejad and others.
(29) andyL, October 12, 2009 9:17 AM
From Holocaust to Holocaust
By far one of the most tightly linked analogies to the Holcaust was to see a male Jewish holocaust survivor marry a Nazi decendant. A 3500 year heritage, exterminated !. What her father failed at, she continued. As for the Jewish man; when the Jews were taken to their deaths they were beaten, starved and barely able to stand, let alone put up a fight. What is his reason for ending Jewish life? This film clearly demonstrates that as one Holocaust ended, another immediately began. An internal holocaust based, driven by emotion, and lacking in intelligence.
(28) Anonymous, October 12, 2009 5:42 AM
How sad!
The only thing we really leave behind for our children is memories. How sad that these sadists inflicted their own children and grandchildren with such horror. The sins of the father are passed on even to the fourth and fifth generation.
(27) nkahana, October 11, 2009 1:27 PM
she should have converted
That would have been a perfect in your face triumph over Hitler and all the other murderers of the Jews! Most of the people interviewed in this film were grandchildren or not directly related to the infamous Nazi officials still they felt shame and a responsibility. This is probably due to their German education post-WWII, I wonder about their parents though, how did they feel being even more closely related?
(26) Aaron, September 30, 2009 2:41 AM
I an schocked
I don't really see why the descendants of nazis deserve pity. The very idea of portraying themselves as "victims" is a travesty and an insult to the real victims of the Shoa. In fact, many of the descendants of prominent Nazis cunningly make use of the notoriety surrounding their surname to make a quick bug. Two granchildren of Baldur von Schirach are talentless, but succesful journalists. The son of nazi war criminal Albert Speer is a famous architect. They are making money, while tens of thousands of victims never ever saw compensation, & struggled to make a living. Katrin Himmler's comments are obscene. She obviously married a Jew to be on the "winner's side" of history, and escape her past.
Anonymous, January 7, 2013 5:32 PM
Yes, they do not belong with us
horrible , bizarre comparrison is vile to me, a child of a adult child of a survivor of concentration 'camps", forced labor, death marches, torture, the USUAL the yidden experience. NO SIMILARITIES of my pain to her "pain". I work with survivors now; they like me have no family. because they were gassed, or starved to death. the innocents do not need to ease the guilty's children's minds! it makes no sense. NAZI's children: LEAVE US ALONE! seeing your faces, hearing you only causes further pain, don't you realize? to many your face is the reminder of the face of evil, to others the face of a NAZI. stop looking for Jewish sympathy.
(25) Joseph, September 29, 2009 5:30 PM
Sins of the father
All have sinned and fallen short of G-d's glory...none of us is righteous except G-d who will come in judgement for sin...we asked for forgiveness for our sins YonKuppor...yet we will not forgive the sins of others.
(24) Anonymous, September 27, 2009 11:39 AM
This is a horrible video
That lady married a JEW of a HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR!! I agree that Hitler won there. It's the silent killer of today...intermarriage. I can't believe Aish is condoning this by putting this video up. I'm surprised. I think that letting everyone know she's married to a Jew should not have allowed this video to go up because it makes it seem like what she did was a way to rectify her past. This video was just disturbing overall.
(23) Nissim, September 27, 2009 9:30 AM
response to last note and #7
It could be the reason she married a jew was to show how bad she felt for us and she regrets what her family did. On the other hand, number seven has an excellent point. By marrying this guy, their kids are now going to be non-jews and that is doing similiar to what Hitler did (erase the jewish family tree.)
(22) Anonymous, September 27, 2009 4:46 AM
I'm in shock
this video confused me greatly.. for what reason do we need to pity the germans and deal with their pain? one of them married a Jew, not only a Jew but the son of a holocaust survivor! that is the saddest thing, Moshiach needs to come now! this world is so confused that she thinks she is doing good by marrying a Jew. Has her father not done enough! may Hashem bring Moshiach! bimheira beyameinu Amen!
(21) Anonymous, September 27, 2009 2:05 AM
Interesting
It was quite interesting seeing these people speak out. I believe that they feel guilty for what their relatives did, but I've been led to believe that these people descend from Amalek, so... I don't know. They're sort of the Jewish peoples' sworn enemies so we can't really forgive or trust them...
(20) suri, September 25, 2009 1:33 PM
There is nothing in common except for pain
I loved the video - however it was mentioned two times that the children of hitler have their past in common. This is simply not true they do not share the same anything except for pain which is not related. Please remove those comments. There is no comparison.
(19) Anonymous, September 25, 2009 3:41 AM
Hitler still wins!
I watched the film a few times to see if my thoughts would change. They didn't. What did you want the viewer to come away from the dialogue with? I came away with that if a perpetrators child marries one of the victims a) perverse confusion prevails and b) Hitler still wins. And second, if they all feel so bad, what have they done for the Jewish people since finding out their ancestorial heritage? Sterilization. Now that's thinking & acting different than Hitler! I am sorry I did not get the point if there was one.
(18) anonymous, September 25, 2009 1:22 AM
WOW!
comment#12, yes I hear you, both sides do not carry the same burden. I think she probably meant that it's sad for both the children of the war criminals and sad for those who lost their families, because how could one possibly really think both sides are responsible..... This is a wild video. I cannot believe it is in existence. It blows me away completely. It has tremendous weight in the sense that I never thought about the children of these murderers. As a quick though I had , yet only when thinking about the war takling place- not decades later. This is an extremely meritorious piece of work because it continues both the importance of the memories of those who were innocent and perished and the fact that the war existed especially now that Achmajinadad decries all eforts to show that the Holocaust ever took place.....
(17) Gail Ellen, September 25, 2009 12:53 AM
We who carry their names
My middle name Ellen [Chana] is the name of my great Bubbie who was murdered in a concentration camp.There are many that proudly carry the names of our dead family members.We strive to remember that this can all happen again -- when people hate and carry this hate to the next level. This is probably the most thought provoking video that I have ever seen. Thank you for extending this video to so many !!
(16) Anonymous, September 25, 2009 12:20 AM
when that daughter of a nazi said that both sides are carrying the same burden, that angered me very much. she has obviously not fully understood what a victim of the holocaust went through if she can claim that her burden is the same.
Richard, July 16, 2012 10:27 PM
Try as they might...
Germans will never live down the atrocity of WWII. Hitler was only one man. But ordinary Germans untied with him and kept him in power. The few who stood up may be respected today in Germany, but they were criminalized then. The German nation took Hitler into their hearts. I often wonder what Germany would have become had they won the war. The "Master Race" that Hitler told them they were? It was great for them...while the illusion lasted.
Rosa Rochel, January 7, 2013 5:24 PM
why do their keep their last names?
Disgusted by video and music played throughout. YES, these "children" should and could do much. none speak of doing ANY work, giving $, support to Jewish organizations, etc. who is this woman who marries a Jew? what religion? She would raise a child from a Jewish man, obliterating the another Jewish lineage, like so many millions were during the holocaust. theiir suffering can in no way be compared to the suffering of a child of a holocaust survivor. My father, may his memory be a blessing!, survived but was starved, beaten, tortured... endured all that so many did, day after day for years and then had to live with these memories daily. there is no comparison between these 2 "children of" . makes me sick to stomach to think of these people-get a therapist! the holocaust for the 6 millions that died was a Jewish experience and we can only cling to, trust and help each other through our common experiences and memories. You may go to groups of people for support for those whose parents were murderers, evil, etc... Leave us alone!! it is salt in the wounds!!!!!!!!!!
(15) Mark, September 24, 2009 9:49 PM
Where Have They Been?
As the world continues to entertain Holocaust Denial nutbags like Ahmadinejad, these "decent" Germans need to speak out! If they want justice, stop the boohoo'ing and do something to highlight what happened so it never happens again. They're coward-parents surely haven't.
(14) USASharon, September 24, 2009 12:47 AM
Sins of the Fathers
"Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities. Lamentations 5:7 . . . visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the 3rd/4th generations of those who hate Me. Exodus 20:5." Repentance by the generations on behalf of the sins of the Fathers can bring peace and true healing through true repentance. We all hold a responsibility to repent before a Holy God. He is - He is Holy - I pray for the souls of these survivors to be healed -such atrocities provoke the Nation of Germany to seek repentance, forgiveness, healing and to never allow it to happen again in any part of the world.
(13) Anonymous, September 23, 2009 10:26 PM
to Hate or not
The jewish guy who did not hate is very courageous but i have difficulty accepting his remarks.....The things they did to Jews is unforgiveable and when you don't forgive nor forget you WILL hate- at least the evil that was done to us
(12) Anonymous, September 23, 2009 10:14 PM
"Both victims carrying the SAME burden"??? Wow. That's a twisted statement if I ever heard one.
(11) Dennis Reiche, September 23, 2009 3:52 PM
Very well presented and gave pause for reflection. Every man's journey reflects their insight, understanding, and their reality of G-d's creation. The video gives rise to questions about we ourselves and our individual levels of our own insight, understanding, and reality.
(10) Anonymous, September 23, 2009 2:38 AM
never forget...
decendants of evil can be decent people, but that doesnt in any way change the disgusting, sadistic acts of their parents and grandparents. from that you cant move on. holocaust denial comes from "moving on".
(9) Abe, September 22, 2009 5:23 PM
I found the clip to be very powerful. I was quite disgusted with the fact that a holocaust survivor's child could marry Himler's grand niece. This is not a comment on her, but on the fact that this person could be so insensitive to his family and his people, was there no one else to meet and marry?
(8) Estelle, September 22, 2009 3:07 PM
Intense film, but misleading ending
The film grabbed me as being highly interesting and intense. I never even gave thought to this entire group of descendants of war criminals. However, at the end, when the narrator describes the meeting of the two groups, he says that they will come together to "share their common pasts." That's preposterous! Maybe one could say that they could compare their experiences and pain, but one cannot even begin to call their pasts anything NEAR common! It was a good film, but the ending line was a let down. Thank you.
(7) Jewish Mama, September 22, 2009 9:29 AM
The problem? The burden?
Katrin Himmler, related to Heinrich Himmler--second in command to Hitler, marries a Jewish man, the son of survivors. She asks "What's the problem?" The problem Ms Himmler, is that your children are not Jews. You are continuing to extinguish the flame of the Jewish soul by marrying a Jewish man and his children will not be Jews--end of the line, just another route. Perhaps some part of you thought that you might distance yourself from your heritage through this marriage? Understandable. Ms Goering: you say that you carry the same burden as the survivors. I'm so sorry, but though the loss is heavier for the victims, the burden of the murderers is heaviest of all. It's not the same burden. Still, I wish you and all the world a full healing and an end to evil (which you surely are working toward in the making of this film!). I applaud the film makers for their exploration of this still raw experience. May it bring understanding and healing to the world.
(6) Anny Matar, September 22, 2009 8:32 AM
I can neither forgive nor forget
How can one be asked to forgive or forget? I happen to live in Germany from 1961 - 67 because my husband represented ElAl during these years. They were the hardest years of my life -nightmares of my children being killed in their beds with blood all over,It was too hard to bear but I said nothing as it's so difficult to explain to someone who, thanks God, has been spared all this by coming to Israel in 1938, what it really means to have been there. I was spared deportations either to Sibiria in 1941 by a miracle, and then from the Ghetto by another miracle. So little is really known about suffering of the Jews in Eastern Europe, one mostly talks about Auschwitz - Bergen Belsen - Dachau but not much is spoken about Eastern Europe it's as though nothing ever happened there, believe me it was terrible and tens of thousand died there or on their way to Palestine. However many films are made and however much is spoken about it, it can never be understood unless YOU WERE THERE!!!! One can't and SHOULD NOT FORGET but I think the second and third generation will be able to talk and, as time passes, even forgive.
(5) sharon, September 22, 2009 2:03 AM
wow!! this was something!! never saw something like this before.
(4) Walter Brown, September 21, 2009 9:37 PM
Very Sad
This was very interesting, I didn't know that Hitler had children.
Anonymous, January 7, 2013 5:36 PM
Hitler, himself, had no children, Thank G-d!
but his close associates did. Hitler, may his name be obliterated, was impotent., according to his medical records.
(3) MN, September 21, 2009 5:17 PM
I found the video to be very moving and amazing. However one point which I do not agree with at all is when one of the German women said "it is the same burden and maybe we can help each other"- its not the same burden. Yes, they have to live knowing their parents did horrific things to human beings- but they did not suffer in concentration camps, ghettos, watching their family disappear or killed off in front of them, stay in hiding for months worrying everyday that they will be caught. So, while I do believe the ramifications of the Holocaust are leaving its effects on future generations- I hate that comparison.
(2) Priscilla Schneider, September 21, 2009 4:39 PM
Meeting with perpetrators descendants
My parents were both survivors from Hungary. I have always had very confused feelings towards both the perpetrators and their descendants, since my parents were not interested in pursuing any kind of punishable action against perpetrators. I have never knowingly met a perpetrator or their descendant. If ever there is such a conference in Los Angeles, I would be interested in attending and would appreciate receiving information regarding the event.
(1) Raisy, September 21, 2009 3:00 PM
Too awful to watch
This was too awful to watch in one sitting. I had to close it after a few moments, but was mesmerized and opened it again. It is hope-engendering in that one sees human compassion alive in these children proving once again that man is a consequence of the choices he makes; we are all born with predispositions to good and evil. We make choices every day, hour even minute of our lives to love, hope, heal, pity, befriends, protect, or hate, despair, damage, brutalize, alienate, or demonize. What a terrible legacy these children live with. We know that G-d "zeh le'umas zeh" (one force opposite an equal ly powerful force). What a powerful legacy a righteous man leaves for his offspring! Is there a greater gift than leaving a child with memories of acts of heroism and spiritual greatness?