Aida's Secrets

There are many secrets of the past that will continue to emerge in the next decades, as many people look into their DNA ancestry and find that the stories don't match the data. This will be especially true for people whose ancestors went through some of the worst horrors of history.

And there is a generation of people who would not have spoken of it, have been ashamed, and have been traumatized by their experiences. I can completely sympathize with women who might have done whatever they had to, to survive. Or may have been subject to situations out of their control.

And the offspring will have mixed outcomes. Some stories will begin to cohere. Some will only fray more. This is a fascinating look at one of those cases.

There is also a remarkably lucky strike of archival records that was available to piece this story together. Some families won't have that.

This documentary was a well-constructed trip through time, not varnished, and sometimes unsettling. But it seems to have been an honest view into a family's attempt to wrestle with the past, and fill in the gaps. And we heard stories of a time whose participants are slipping away. I think it was definitely worthwhile and I am glad someone captured it. I certainly learned things of value.