Europa Europa (1990)

A boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.

Director:

Agnieszka Holland

Writers:

Paul Hengge (additional material), Agnieszka Holland,

Stars:

Marco Hofschneider, André Wilms, René Hofschneider

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marco Hofschneider	...	Salomon 'Solly' 'Salek' Perel / Josef 'Jupp' Peters
André Wilms	...	Soldier Robert Kellerman
Ashley Wanninger	...	Gerd
Klaus Abramowsky	...	Salomon's Father
Michèle Gleizer	...	Salomon's Mother
Delphine Forest	...	Inna Moyseyevna
René Hofschneider	...	Isaak Perel - Salomon's brother
Julie Delpy	...	Leni
Hanns Zischler	...	Captain von Lerenau Hauptmann.
Martin Maria Blau	...	Ulmayer
Bernhard Howe	...	Feldwebel
Klaus Kowatsch	...	Schulz
Holger Kunkel	...	Kramer
Halina Labonarska	...	Leni's Mother
Andrzej Mastalerz	...	Zenek Dracz

Storyline

A Jewish boy, separated from his family in the early days of WWII, poses as a German orphan and is thereafter taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually made a Hitler Youth. Although improbabilities and happenstance are cornerstones of the film, it is based upon a true story.

---

Plot Keywords:

hitler youth | german | jewish | jewish boy | nazi | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for mature treatment of holocaust issues

Details

Country:

Germany France Poland

Language:

German Russian Polish Hebrew

Release Date:

14 November 1990 (France)

Also Known As:

Europa, Europa

Filming Locations:

Jewish Cemetary, Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland

Box Office

Gross:

$5,575,738 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Les Films du Losange, Telmar Film International Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film met with a lukewarm reception in its native Germany, with the local media being less than complementary about it. The German Oscar selection committee did not even include it as a submission for that year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Much embarrassment ensued when it went on to become one of the most successful German films ever released in the US, winning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

---

Goofs

In the classroom scene, where the teacher is demonstrating racial profiling techniques on Peters using calipers to measure his head, the calipers sometimes move and produce no sounds. Other times sounds are heard when the calipers aren't moving. Also, many of the sounds that are heard are inconsistent with the sounds that instruments like these should produce and how they should be properly used.

---

Quotes

Salomon 'Solly' 'Salek' Perel: From that moment on, I decided to be only a Jew. Leaving Europe I emigrated to Palestine, and when I had sons, I barely hesitated to circumcise them.

---

Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

User Reviews

Absolutely stunning!

Hitlerjunge Salomon a.k.a. Europa Europa is probably one of the best films ever made. It delivers hard-to-believe scenes quite often, but knowing it's based on a true story, it just becomes more and more fascinating. It's impossible not to admire the courage and the persistence of Salomon Perel. And a subtle depiction of his real life experiences has given us an adorable movie. I'm personally a fan of Holocaust movies in general, but this one is just special. Fear, anxiety, love, hate, friendship.. Basically, life itself! I really admire Jewish people for enduring this neverending hatred against them; and I admire the Germans who are not afraid to put the magnifying glass on their ancestors' dirty deeds by making such marvellous movies about The Second World War. Nothing much to say about the acting. This is one of the very few movies that the casting is just right, and everyone's the best actor of the movie. Language adaptation could be mentioned as a minor flaw of the movie. There must be enough suitable German, Polish, and Russian actors to play their own countrymen. I wonder why they used foreign actors and thus dubbing instead. In spite of this fact, the movie is simply magnificent, and deserves every kind of praise there is.

10/10