Süskind (2012)

During WWII, a member of the Jewish Council of Amsterdam finds a way to spare children from deportation to the death camps.

Director:

Rudolf van den Berg

Writers:

Chris W. Mitchell (scenario), Rudolf van den Berg (scenario)

Stars:

Jeroen Spitzenberger, Karl Markovics, Nyncke Beekhuyzen

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeroen Spitzenberger	...	Walter Süskind
Karl Markovics	...	Ferdinand Aus der Fünten
Nyncke Beekhuyzen	...	Hanna Süskind
Katja Herbers	...	Fanny Philips
Golda de Leon	...	Yvonne Suskind
Nasrdin Dchar	...	Felix Halverstadt
Tygo Gernandt	...	Piet Meerburg
Krijn ter Braak	...	Dr. Edwin Schützer
Olga Zuiderhoek	...	Henriette Pimentel
Chava Voor in 't Holt	...	Sylvie
Ramsey Nasr	...	Mendel Blumgarten
Theo Pont	...	Officer Van Zeijtveld
Erich Krieg	...	Willy Lages
Peter Post	...	Albert Gemmeker
George Remmes	...	Adjutant Bauer

Storyline

During WWII, a member of the Jewish Council of Amsterdam finds a way to spare children from deportation to the death camps.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch German

Release Date:

19 January 2012 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Зюскинд

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€259,620 (Netherlands), 22 January 2012, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fu Works, Cadenza Films B.V., Verenigde Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (VARA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on the true story of Walter Süskind (1906 -1945), a German Jew who helped about 600 Jewish children escape the Holocaust. He worked with Henriette Henriques Pimentel, Felix Halverstad and Johan van Huls, to gather children who were not registered and smuggle them out of Amsterdam. Around 600 children were saved. In 1944, Süskind, his wife and his daughter were sent to the Westerbork transit camp. All three perished, the wife and daughter in a concentration camp, Suskind himself on a death march.

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Goofs

When Süskind looks up his family in the register, his own birth date is correct but his wife Johanna's is listed as 11-1-1906 (January 11). Her actual birth date was 1-11-1906 (November 1).

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Connections

Referenced in De Avond van de Filmmuziek (2015)

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Soundtracks

Soare Bim Bam Boom - Drumuri Bim Bam Boom
Written by Nicolae Caragia
Performed by the 'Jewish Theatre, Bucarest'

User Reviews

A touching and overwhelming movie on one of the most miraculous stories of the holocaust

I just watched this movie at the preview in Amsterdam and I felt really touched by this rather unknown and miraculous story on the holocaust in The Netherlands. In this story members of the Amsterdam Jewish Council together with the student resistance organized the escape and hiding of 600 children from the Nazis. Although I had heard the story many times from my mother (she was actually one of the children's nurses working at the Jewish nursery and involved in smuggling the infant's and young children out of the guarded building), most particular I was very impressed by the story as depicted by director Rudolf van den Berg. Of course the storyline was partly the directors interpretation of the factual happenings, however this was not disturbing at all and made the personality of Süskind coming alive without becoming to sentimental. At the end of this two hour movie, during the movie credits, the audience was quit and stunned and many could barely keep their eyes dry which was most probably intensified by the end score beautifully performed by violinist Janine Jansen.

The acting in the movie was very good. In particular Jeroen Spitsenberger gave a great performance as Walter Süskind, however Austrian actor Karl Markovic outplays him in a brilliant role as the compulsive and lonely SS-commandant Aus der Fünten. His character is convincing from his first appearance on. Were there any (minor) issues on this movie? Yes, is was not shot at the original location in Amsterdam but in Romania which is understandable since a lot has been changed but still impacted the credibility of the movie at this point somehow. Also the scene where nurse Fanny escapes deportation at the railway station looked very similar to the one in Schindler's List where Stern is released from the train.

All together Süskind is, despite a few minor errors, an outstanding movie on WW2. The fact that this movie is based on a factual and miraculous story makes it even more a must seen about a story which should be told. Even after a few days, the movie made a lot of impression to me and I therefore could warmly recommend it to everyone interested in WW2 history.