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WE WERE THERE—CHRISTIANS AND THE HOLOCAUST
a documentary by Pierre Sauvage
2019, 58 min.
A two-part documentary exploring Christian responses to the Holocaust.
1. "Four Righteous Christians"
Documentary filmmaker Pierre Sauvage ("Weapons of the Spirit") probes further into the nature of Christian resistance to the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe by drawing on three never before seen interviews he filmed in 1982. Also weaving in evocations of the internment camps that then dotted the French landscape, the film highlights the thoughtful testimony of four now deceased Christians who were subsequently honored as Righteous Among the Nations: Madeleine Barot, founder of the rescue organization the Cimade; pastor André Dumas, who worked with the Cimade during the Nazi occupation of France; Jean-Marie Soutou, then a member of the important Christian resistance group "Témoignage Chrétien;" and Magda Trocmé. Magda Trocmé, seen here in a never before seen interview in English, was the widow of pastor André Trocmé, pastor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France during World War II and the Holocaust. In and around that village in Nazi-occupied France, some 5,000 Jews were sheltered—by 5,000 Christians.
2. "We Were There: Rev. Franklin Littell Confronts the Holocaust"
The late Rev. Dr. Littell forcefully argues that the Holocaust was and is a crisis for Christians as well as for Jews. In vivid language that never pulls its punches, the plain-spoken clergyman, author, and educator underscores the failures of education then as well as the failures of Christianity. Above all, he asks whether we are striving to learn the lessons of those terrible times.
Dr. Michael D. Bess, Chancellor’s Professor of History, Vanderbilt University:
"This magnificent trio of films sheds new light on the moral choices faced by those who lived through the Holocaust, and challenges the viewer to examine the subtler and more troubling implications of those choices for those of us living in the world of today. It is a moving and inspiring portrait of individuals who found the inner strength to resist the pressures and fears of a Nazi-occupied Europe, and to find pathways toward meaningful and boldly righteous action. The three films, each a fascinating inquiry in its own right, form a synergy in which 'the whole is greater than the sum of the parts': viewing all three in sequence provokes a profound impression on the viewer, directly linking the horrors of the past with the pressing moral challenges of the present day. A masterful work of cinema, and more importantly, a powerful vehicle for exploring the limits of moral thought and action."
Filmmaker Sauvage went on to make Weapons of the Spirit—being reissued in a newly remastered 30th-anniversary edition—the much acclaimed feature documentary about the area of Le Chambon. the Huguenot community in France that became a haven for 5,000 Jews during the Holocaust, including Sauvage and his parents.
Heading towards release at last is Pierre Sauvage's Not Idly By: Peter Bergson, America and the Holocaust (2019, 59 min.), which could be paired with and follow the 56-minute Yiddish: the Mame-Loshn to constitute a full program on the American Jewish experience— some highs and some lows—spanning 30 years of Jewish filmmaking.
Upcoming is Sauvage's feature documentary, And Crown Thy Good: Varian Fry and the Refugee Crisis, 1940-1941.
"This magnificent film sheds new light on the moral choices faced by those who lived through the Holocaust, and challenges the viewer to examine the subtler and more troubling implications of those choices for those of us living in the world of today. It is a moving and inspiring portrait of individuals who found the inner strength to resist the pressures and fears of a Nazi-occupied Europe, and to find pathways toward meaningful and boldly righteous action. The two films, each a fascinating inquiry in its own right, form a synergy in which 'the whole is greater than the sum of the parts': viewing them both in sequence provokes a profound impression on the viewer, directly linking the horrors of the past with the pressing moral challenges of the present day. A masterful work of cinema, and more importantly, a powerful vehicle for exploring the limits of moral thought and action."
Dr. Michael D. Bess , Chancellor’s Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
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© Copyright 2018, Chambon Foundation. All rights reserved. Revised: January 28, 2012