This heavy, but very good, adult drama that was based on the true story of a young German Jew who survived the Holocaust by falling in with the Nazis. In 1938, a group of Nazis attack Solomon Perel's home. His sister is killed and thirteen-year-old Solomon flees to Poland. Solomon winds up in an orphanage operated by Stalinist forces. When German forces storm Poland, Solomon's fluent German allows him to join the Nazis as a translator, posing as Josef Peters, an ethnic German. In time, "Peters" is made a member of the elite Hitler Youth, but since Solomon is circumcised, he can be easily revealed as a Jew, and he lives in constant fear that his secret will be discovered. Solomon's close calls include an attempted seduction by Robert Kellerman, a homosexual officer, and his relationship with Leni, a beautiful, but violent anti-Semitic woman who wants to bear his child for the glory of the Master Race. Europa, Europa also features a cameo apperance by the real Solomon Perel, who wrote the book on which the film is based. Despite the movie's darkness and gloom, there still is some comic relief that shines through. A must see. Also watch the movie first and then read the book.
This heavy, but very good, adult drama that was based on the true story of a young German Jew who survived the Holocaust by falling in with the Nazis. In 1938, a group of Nazis attack Solomon Perel's home. His sister is killed and thirteen-year-old Solomon flees to Poland. Solomon winds up in an orphanage operated by Stalinist forces. When German forces storm Poland, Solomon's fluent German allows him to join the Nazis as a translator, posing as Josef Peters, an ethnic German. In time, "Peters" is made a member of the elite Hitler Youth, but since Solomon is circumcised, he can be easily revealed as a Jew, and he lives in constant fear that his secret will be discovered. Solomon's close calls include an attempted seduction by Robert Kellerman, a homosexual officer, and his relationship with Leni, a beautiful, but violent anti-Semitic woman who wants to bear his child for the glory of the Master Race. Europa, Europa also features a cameo apperance by the real Solomon Perel, who wrote the book on which the film is based. Despite the movie's darkness and gloom, there still is some comic relief that shines through. A must see. Also watch the movie first and then read the book.
