Plot Summary

 

Sven, a German, goes to Poland to do civil service work at the Auschwitz memorial center. There, he is to help Mr.Krzeminski; a holocaust survivor, who spends his time repairing old suitcases and returning them to their owners.  Mr. Krzeminski is not fond of Sven at first and tries to push him away but gradually allows him to help. During Sven’s time there he falls in love with a girl named Anna who is a tour guide for the memorial center and she shows him a new perspective on the present day of the town. He learns more about Oświęcim’s dark past and the tourism industry that is feeding off of this horror.

The film heightens at a memorial event where Mr. Krzeminski is speaking about his life experience and is cut off and silenced.  Sven stands up for Mr. Krzeminski and his mindset about why he is doing this job changes, leading him to want to stay in Oświęcim at the end of the movie.

The film never mentions the Holocaust or Jewish people directly but takes an approach of following the story of one survivor and guy in a coming of age story with Mr. Krzeminski himself being Polish rather that Jewish. This film also makes a point to say that tourist will always come after a tragedy and the tourism industry has an impact on the trauma.

 

Film Analysis and Article Interpretation

• Mr. Krzeminski gives a talk at a new memorial sponsored by the German chemical plant
• The camera shots during this speech  create a visual interruption along with the translation of his speech into Polish as well as wind and rain creating an auditory disruption
• Interpreted by O’Dea “When Krzeminski is interrupted in this speech it alludes to the German and Polish relations today and the lack of sensitivity of the workers.  They are using Krzeminski as a symbolic value in a ritualistic manor and only to make them look better as opposed to a empathetic and genuine effort” (O’Dea 51).
• This also alludes to the tourism industry of the Holocaust that profits off of the horrific atrocities of the Holocaust.

Pictures of Suitcases at the Memorial and Museum at  AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU 

Transnational Aspects

• Multiple languages (German, Polish, and English)
• Well known topic, everyone knows about the Holocaust
• International travel
• German-Polish relationships (intercultural)
• Diverging memory narratives between the Germans and the Poles in regards to the past and contemporary relationships, that are tied to the same geographical location.
• Trans-nationally released in multiple countries around the world
• Transnational industry in an area plagued by the memories of the past (German chemical plant in territory that is now Polish, but was once occupied by the Germans and taken by force.) —The above scene—
• Promotes reconciliation and understanding between the Germans and the Polish through interaction in the present time. It shows how Germans and Poles deal with their past history without dramatizing it or constantly reconstructing any of the negative events.