A documentary about the last living victims of nazi racial experiment.
In 1942, approximately thirty Slovenian babies were selected and stolen through a "racial selection" process and included in the notorious Nazi program called Lebensborn (Source of Life). This program was designed to promote the Aryan race and was led by Heinrich Himmler. As part of the program, babies were forcibly taken from their families across Europe and subsequently adopted by German couples who were perceived as loyal to the Nazi regime. The film tells the story of four "children of the Lebensborn“: Ingrid Von Oelhafen from Germany, Haymo Henry Hayder from Costa Rica, Franc Zagožen from Belgium, and Ivan Acman from Slovenia. The protagonists of the documentary serve as the last living witnesses to a horrific racial experiment that never resulted in punishment for those responsible for the Lebensborn program. Each of them shares their unique journey of discovering the truth about their origins, accepting that truth, and ultimately finding inner peace. By offering glimpses into the protagonists' current lives and their ongoing awareness of global events, the film emphasizes that similar atrocities continue to occur, notably in Ukraine at the present moment.
Maja Weiss’s documentary tells the stories of four stolen children, the last remaining Slovenian victims of the Nazi Lebensborn programme.
Producer: |
Ida Weiss (Bela film) |
Director: |
Maja Weiss |
Script: |
Maja Weiss, Nataša Konc Lorenzutti |
Editing: |
Jurij Moškon |
Photography: |
Mitja Ličen, Matic Oblak, Amadej Bratuž, Maja Weiss |
Others: |
Music: August Adrian Braatz
Sound: Julij Zornik, Gregor Bajc, Tonko Sekulo, Gastón Sáenz Espinoza
Co-producers: Senca Studio, RTV Slovenija, Zavod Maja Weiss, Zavod Vesnik
Cast: Ingrid von Oelhafen, Haymo Henry Heyder, Franc Zagožen, Ivan Acman, dr. Georg Lilienthal, dr. Dorothee Schmitz-Köster, Gisela Heidenreich, dr. Tone Kregar, Nataša Konc Lorenzutti
Distribution: Bela film
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Biographical feature about the time that Maja Weiss has, during the three decades of her career, experienced and recorded on her films, which she signs as a directress, screenwriter, or camerawoman. The film is an insight into the life and work of the directress: it reveals her personal ‘rosebud’ and describes her socially critical outlook on the society since Tito’s death in 1980 to the present days of rampant terrorism, refugee crises, and unemployment.