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In search of traces
Filmscreening and talk

On 27 January, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust is celebrated throughout Europe, commemorating the liberation of the Ausschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

On this occasion, we will show the film „In search of traces – from Jever to Auschwitz“ by Omid Mohadjeri, Michael Telkmann and Christel Schwarz, which honours 74 Sinti from Oldenburg who were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there.

“Auschwitz is our cemetery and we go there to visit and honour our deceased.” With these words, Christel Schwarz describes his family’s journey, which begins in the northern German city of Jever. The Schwarzes are a long-established Sinti family, many of whom were deported during the Nazi era.

It took years to make this journey possible. It is a journey into a past full of painful memories and collective trauma. And, sadly, it is also a confrontation with the ongoing challenges of the present. After a long period of pre-production, the documentary was filmed in 2019.

Mohadjeri accompanies the family members closely with the camera during their visits to various concentration camps, while Telkmann creates a consistent safe space to hold intimate conversations and enable personal film recordings.

The film is a dignified cinematic memory for the family, which gives the viewer access to the family’s great challenge of dealing with the deep-seated trauma of the past and present.

The film screening will be followed by a talk with one of the directors and a Sinti swing concert.