House of the World 1999
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Esther Podemski
Directed by Esther Podemski
VHS, color and b&, 54 min.
Adult
Psychology, Jewish Studies, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Debra Mandel, Head, Media Center, Northeastern University, Boston, MAIn House of the World, Esther Podemski somberly unveils disturbing truths about the Holocaust by tracing the story of Poddebice, Poland, the town her father came from. She introduces the film with photographs of a once intact community of friends and family. In a journey to uncover her father's past, Ms. Podemski accompanies elder survivors back to Poddebice, where they hold a memorial service in the Jewish graveyard marked with just one tablet. Much of the film revolves around this sacred burial ground, now an empty field. Decimated during WWII, it is being painstakingly preserved by a custodian in Lodz (who died before the film was completed) and the few Jewish survivors remaining in the town. Several thousand Jews of Poddebice and nearby Lodz were killed in the Holocaust. We are haunted by what we see and don't see, and reminded that soon all remnants of Jewish life in Poland will vanish completely. We learn what happened to the Jews of this town and see the town today, not looking all that different from what it once did. At the story's end, Ms. Podemski reveals that she has learned through another photograph that her father was the one who had constructed the monument in the cemetery she had just gone to visit. It is this personal connection between the filmmaker and her own unfolding history that brings the whole story into sharp focus.
House of the World is a very powerful, yet understated film with excellent technical qualities. The narrator, Victoria Parker, has just the right tone and pacing. Conversations and interviews with the survivors and townspeople are both articulate and heartfelt. Location filming is expert. Use of archival film, photographs, and music are integrated throughout, providing essential focus to the value of memory.
House of the World can be used effectively in college-level classes about the Holocaust, Jewish Studies, and Psychology. Public libraries serving Jewish communities should also purchase this film.
Winner of the 1999 Human Rights Watch Film Festival, it is highly recommended.