Educational Media Reviews Online

Scared Again: Jews in Berlin is a powerful reminder of the intolerance we still live with in our world. Some things in Berlin, Germany in 1993 haven't changed since World War II.

Kiki Miyake used this ten minute film to explore anti-semitism in today's Germany from the viewpoint of German Jews. Before 1933 there were 173,000 Jews who belonged to congregations in Berlin's shuls. In 1993 there were 9,000 members.

Irene Runge, founder of the Jewish Cultural Association noted that "You cannot beat up your neighbor because you do not know his language." Yet this is happening to Jews in Berlin. She also notes, "There's a belief that knowledge leads to tolerance. It is wrong."

Stefan Heym, a Jewish writer, fled from Hitler to the United States only to be persecuted by Senator Joseph McCarthy. A socialist he finally left the United States and returned to the GDR only to be persecuted again by neo-Nazis. He noted in reference to everyday Germany and Germans in general that, "Everyone believed they had coped with the past, but instead the problem was shoved aside."

The film documents that with reunification has come a resurgence of neo-Nazism. Kathrin Briglis, a journalist, noted that the fallen Berlin Wall is the first backdrop of freedom for a few but not for all.

The Schoenhauser Cemetary, a Jewish cemetary, in East Berlin is shown with graves desecrated. Arnold Munter, an 80 year old Holocaust survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, is interviewed about the desecration. When asked what he thinks about neo-Nazis he answers, "It disturbs me a lot. I'll do everything to work against them. I will not give up for one day."

This film is recorded in German with English language subtitles. The color quality is uneven and subtitles over faces as the person is talking is very disconcerting. Otherwise it is a powerful small film that deserves wide distribution. Recommended for high school or college social science courses.