Imagine that your grandmother has just passed away and your family is cleaning out her apartment. Amidst all the stuff your grandmother has collected, you find a tantalizing and shocking newspaper article involving your grandparents that you never heard about before from any other family member including your mother. This is essentially the set-up for 'The Flat', a fascinating new documentary by Israeli filmmaker Arnon Goldfinger.
Goldfinger's grandparents, Gerda and Kurt Tuchler, were German Jews who emigrated to Palestine (now Israel) in 1936 after the Nazis forced them out. The article was from a virulent Nazi newspaper, Der Angriff, from 1934, which chronicles a trip made by a high Nazi official, Leopold von Mildenstein, to Palestine. The article features photos of Mildenstein traveling to Palestine with Goldfinger's grandparents.
The mystery is not only why this SS man would go to Palestine with two Jews but why Goldfinger's grandparents would accompany him. Furthermore, Goldfinger discovers that his grandparents visited Mildenstein in Germany AFTER World War II numerous times and kept up a friendship with him and his wife.
The documentary brings out the fact that in 1934 the Nazi policy of 'The Final Solution' (i.e. the extermination of the Jewish people) had not been developed and there was some consideration of deporting German Jews to Palestine. Mildenstein apparently was on a scouting mission to see if deportation was a feasible solution to the "Jewish Question". Mildenstein actually headed the SS Office of Jewish Affairs prior to it being taken over by the infamous Adolph Eichmann. Clips from Eichmann's 1961 trial in Israel are shown along with transcripts from the trial indicating that Eichmann considered Mildenstein as an "expert" on Jewish affairs and that he was basically his mentor! Nonetheless, Mildenstein, apparently was not a racialist and privately had no problems socializing with Jewish people. The Tuchlers may not have been aware of Mildenstein's Nazi affiliations and were simply glad a non-Jewish German would strike up a friendship with them.
After Mildenstein's replacement at the Office of Jewish Affairs in 1937, his movements in Germany up until the end of the war were largely unknown. Goldfinger flies to Germany and meets up with Mildenstein's daughter, Edda, who firmly believed that her father was no longer affiliated with the Nazis during the war. Goldfinger seeks out a retired journalist who wrote about Mildenstein during the 1960s when he had become an executive for Coca-Cola. Although the former SS officer was mentioned during the Eichmann trial, his reputation wasn't tarnished as it was believed (as the retired reporter pointed out), that his affiliation with the Nazis had ended in 1937, when he was replaced by Eichmann. During the war (as Mildenstein's daughter's husband indicates) Mildenstein was believed to be a mere 'journalist'.
The plot thickens when Goldfinger finds Mildenstein's wartime file in records located in the former East Germany, which were not available to journalists back in the 60s. Goldfinger discovers that Mildenstein was actually promoted as an official in Goebbal's propaganda ministry and worked there for the rest of the war. Goldfinger confronts Mildenstein's daughter with the new information about her father and she appears reluctant to believe what Goldfinger is telling her. Even after she shows her a copy of her father's resume indicating his Nazi affiliations during the war, it is obvious that she's now quite uncomfortable dealing with these new revelations.
As for Goldfinger's grandparents, he interviews an expert on German Jewish history who points out that the Tuchlers obviously were not aware of Mildenstein's Nazi wartime activities. They were also willing to forgive him for any past Nazi associations, due to their past friendship with him. Despite being Jewish, the Tuchlers never learned Hebrew while in Israel and continued to speak German. They continued to identify with German culture in spite of the Holocaust and that's why they visited Germany many times after the war.
For the most part, 'The Flat' is riveting--only the ending proves to be slightly awkward. As Goldfinger and his mother walk through an old German Jewish cemetery in Germany, they search for the grave of his great-grandfather. Goldfinger unnecessarily berates his mother for not taking more of an interest in her parents when they were alive in order to find out more about their history. Apparently, his grandparents were as complicit as the mother in not revealing information about their time living in Germany and their association with Mildenstein. The mother concedes she should have taken more of an interest in the family history but when she was younger, we have to believe her that she simply had no interest at that time.
'The Flat' brings to the fore more revelations regarding issues of guilt and responsibility of ordinary Germans vis-à-vis the Holocaust. By the same token, it chronicles conflicting feelings on the part of those German Jews who survived. 'The Flat' plays out like a detective mystery, with its talented creator cast in the role of high stakes super sleuth!
Goldfinger's grandparents, Gerda and Kurt Tuchler, were German Jews who emigrated to Palestine (now Israel) in 1936 after the Nazis forced them out. The article was from a virulent Nazi newspaper, Der Angriff, from 1934, which chronicles a trip made by a high Nazi official, Leopold von Mildenstein, to Palestine. The article features photos of Mildenstein traveling to Palestine with Goldfinger's grandparents.
The mystery is not only why this SS man would go to Palestine with two Jews but why Goldfinger's grandparents would accompany him. Furthermore, Goldfinger discovers that his grandparents visited Mildenstein in Germany AFTER World War II numerous times and kept up a friendship with him and his wife.
The documentary brings out the fact that in 1934 the Nazi policy of 'The Final Solution' (i.e. the extermination of the Jewish people) had not been developed and there was some consideration of deporting German Jews to Palestine. Mildenstein apparently was on a scouting mission to see if deportation was a feasible solution to the "Jewish Question". Mildenstein actually headed the SS Office of Jewish Affairs prior to it being taken over by the infamous Adolph Eichmann. Clips from Eichmann's 1961 trial in Israel are shown along with transcripts from the trial indicating that Eichmann considered Mildenstein as an "expert" on Jewish affairs and that he was basically his mentor! Nonetheless, Mildenstein, apparently was not a racialist and privately had no problems socializing with Jewish people. The Tuchlers may not have been aware of Mildenstein's Nazi affiliations and were simply glad a non-Jewish German would strike up a friendship with them.
After Mildenstein's replacement at the Office of Jewish Affairs in 1937, his movements in Germany up until the end of the war were largely unknown. Goldfinger flies to Germany and meets up with Mildenstein's daughter, Edda, who firmly believed that her father was no longer affiliated with the Nazis during the war. Goldfinger seeks out a retired journalist who wrote about Mildenstein during the 1960s when he had become an executive for Coca-Cola. Although the former SS officer was mentioned during the Eichmann trial, his reputation wasn't tarnished as it was believed (as the retired reporter pointed out), that his affiliation with the Nazis had ended in 1937, when he was replaced by Eichmann. During the war (as Mildenstein's daughter's husband indicates) Mildenstein was believed to be a mere 'journalist'.
The plot thickens when Goldfinger finds Mildenstein's wartime file in records located in the former East Germany, which were not available to journalists back in the 60s. Goldfinger discovers that Mildenstein was actually promoted as an official in Goebbal's propaganda ministry and worked there for the rest of the war. Goldfinger confronts Mildenstein's daughter with the new information about her father and she appears reluctant to believe what Goldfinger is telling her. Even after she shows her a copy of her father's resume indicating his Nazi affiliations during the war, it is obvious that she's now quite uncomfortable dealing with these new revelations.
As for Goldfinger's grandparents, he interviews an expert on German Jewish history who points out that the Tuchlers obviously were not aware of Mildenstein's Nazi wartime activities. They were also willing to forgive him for any past Nazi associations, due to their past friendship with him. Despite being Jewish, the Tuchlers never learned Hebrew while in Israel and continued to speak German. They continued to identify with German culture in spite of the Holocaust and that's why they visited Germany many times after the war.
For the most part, 'The Flat' is riveting--only the ending proves to be slightly awkward. As Goldfinger and his mother walk through an old German Jewish cemetery in Germany, they search for the grave of his great-grandfather. Goldfinger unnecessarily berates his mother for not taking more of an interest in her parents when they were alive in order to find out more about their history. Apparently, his grandparents were as complicit as the mother in not revealing information about their time living in Germany and their association with Mildenstein. The mother concedes she should have taken more of an interest in the family history but when she was younger, we have to believe her that she simply had no interest at that time.
'The Flat' brings to the fore more revelations regarding issues of guilt and responsibility of ordinary Germans vis-à-vis the Holocaust. By the same token, it chronicles conflicting feelings on the part of those German Jews who survived. 'The Flat' plays out like a detective mystery, with its talented creator cast in the role of high stakes super sleuth!