Sondervorführung: Walter Kaufmann - Welch ein Leben!

More colorful than any screenplay is the life of Walter Kaufmann.
 
He sets a lasting example with his life against any form of right-wing shift,  
racism, and anti-Semitism, which have taken on threatening proportions in our country again. The film is an appeal to us living beings to resolutely defend fundamental human rights and democratic achievements.
 
The film sheds light on the life of the Jewish writer Walter Kaufmann, whose parents were murdered in Auschwitz, and who himself was rescued by the Kindertransport to England. Novelist, sailor, correspondent, and political activist: the life of Walter Kaufmann, who was born in Berlin and died at the age of 97, uniquely reflects historically significant events. 
He was a man who wanted to understand, describe, and change the world.
 
After long years of exile in Australia, he consciously chose a life in East Germany in 1956. Thanks to his Australian passport, which he retained throughout his life, he traveled the world as a true cosmopolitan. The film follows his essential life paths: the catastrophic consequences of National Socialism, the civil rights movement in the USA, the trial against Angela Davis, the revolution in Cuba, the atomic bombings in Japan, the endless story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the collapse of East Germany. All topics that still concern us today.
 
The film impressively demonstrates how Walter Kaufmann fought against the frightening rightward shift, as well as the increasing racism and anti-Semitism of our time, until his last breath.
 
The film skillfully weaves biographical accounts, historical footage, private letters, and literary texts into a moving contemporary document. It highlights central themes such as exile and identity, persecution and survival, political engagement, personal responsibility, and reconciliation while continually asking the question of what history has to do with us today.
 
A touching portrait of an extraordinary person, an important contribution to the framework of a vibrant culture of memory.

Introduction by director Dirk Szuszies followed by a film discussion.
 
Rating: from 12 years / Length: 101 minutes / Production and distribution: Karin Kaper Film Berlin
Supported by the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Rheinland-Pfalz In collaboration with: OMAS GEGEN RECHTS Alzey Alzey shows face – Alliance for Democracy and Diversity