Customer Reviews

Inheritance

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Monika is the real-life daughter of Amon Goth, the infamous commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp and a main subject of the "Schindler's List." Monika, a tall, rangy and emotionally fragile woman, has spent a lifetime coming to terms with the monster who was her father. In his film, she arranges to meet Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, who along with her own mother was employed as a cook by Goth at Plaszow. The women hope for a cathartic encounter that will purge them of their shame and horror.

Oddly, Monika comes off as the more sympathetic of the two women. Her emotions are raw, unhealed and close to the surface. Helen has lived for years with the effects of the cruelty experienced and witnessed at the camp, and her story is smoother for frequent repetition. Both women clearly are victims, and both bear the scars and shame of the past. I felt viscerally how passing through the Holocaust changed lives forever, despite the passage of decades. And I saw how the evil of the fathers is visited on future generations.

The film is generally easy to watch, with many Goth family photos interspersed with photos of Jews being herded onto tricks or marched off to work. An exception is a graphic filmed execution, which though bloodless, is affecting. Such such footage is rarely seen on sanitized American television.

The subtext of "Inheritance" is a meditation on the question of evil. How could the serene and sensitive Monika have been sired by one of the twentieth century's more brutal villains? Her story shows that biology need NOT be destiny. What remains unanswered at the end of the documentary is the question of how Goth's soul became so twisted. Fans of the movie will be interested to see how well Steven Spielberg rendered the Goth villa, Schindler's factory and other landmarks.

"Inheritance" is a documentary that tells the story of two women with very different scars from the World War II genocide of European Jews. Now in her 60's, Monika Hertwig has struggled a lifetime with what she learned at age 11 -- that her father, Amon Goeth, had not been killed in World War II like other soldiers, but was hanged as a war criminal when she was a baby. Over the years, she forced herself to learn more about Amon, but when Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" came out in 1993, Monika became sick with the truth. Helen Jones was 15 years old when she arrived with other Jews at the Plaszow Camp in Poland, which was both a work camp and a death camp. She was singled out by Amon Goeth to live in his house as a servant. Decades after the Holocaust, Helen's appearance in a German television documentary captured Monika's attention, and the two women arranged to meet at the Plaszow concentration camp memorial to the thousands who died there. Director James Moll ("The Last Days") tells a fascinating story of the effect of the Holocaust on two individuals decades later. We see Monika's compulsion to learn more about her father, a man she had never known, and the pain with which she learns the extent of her father's crimes. The documentary also shows the power of film to move people. It was Ralph Fiennes' chilling portrayal of Amon Goeth in the Spielberg film that motivated Goeth's daughter to come to terms with the kind of man her father was.

In director James Moll's "Inheritance", we are introduced to two women who have something in common - they are both connected to an infamous war criminal, Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow concentration camp during WW II, who was eventually hanged for war crimes.

Monika Hertwig was Amon Goeth's daughter and only child, though she never knew her father since she was born just before he was hanged. Despite this relative unfamiliarity with her own father, Hertwig is very much affected by his actions, carrying the burden of guilt all these years. Her most intense impression of him is Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of Amon in the movie "Schindler's List." When Hertwig sees an interview with Helen Jonas on television, a Jewish woman and former Plaszow inmate who had been a slave worker in Amon Goeth's household during the war, she decides to meet her to get a better understanding of who her father really was.

The documentary shows viewers these two women's journey - Hertwig from Germany and Jonas from New Jersey to the site of the Plaszow camp. Their meeting is poignant for all the raw emotions it stirs up in both women. Helen Jonas' anger and sorrow at what was done to her and other innocents is evident, but she also shows compassion towards Monika Hertwig who ironically appears to be the more vulnerable of the two, a rather bewildered expression on her face as she listens to Jonas' recounting the events of the past.

Both women are ultimately victims of a ruthless and merciless man, though they have been affected in different ways. Monika Hertwig is the daughter who struggles to understand what kind of man her father was and why he did what he did, carrying the burden of her father's sins. Helen Jonas not only suffered untold depravity during WW II, but continued to suffer through the years, struggling to come to terms with all the horrors she and others endured during those terrible times.

There are some extras on this DVD: a 5 min interview with the director and cinematographer, "Behind the Score" where the viewer gets a look at the actual recording of the score, a bio of the director etc.I would highly recommend this documentary to those who are interested in the Holocaust.

Monika Hertwig is the reason to see "Inheritance." She comes across as a very real, lovely woman, someone you'd like to have as a friend or next door neighbor. She's a grandmother and housewife, in her sixties, very tall and slim. She's sensitive and caring. She's also the daughter of Amon Goeth, the commandant of Plaszow, the Nazi concentration camp depicted in "Schindler's List." In that film, Ralph Fiennes played Monika's father. Monika was born in 1945. Goeth was executed in 1946.

Monika reports how she learned, slowly but surely, as a child, who her father was and what he did. Monika contacted Helen Jonas, who, as a child, had been one of two Jewish woman named Helen who had served as Goeth's slaves in his Plaszow home. Jonas lived in New Jersey. Monika and Helen met at the site of the Plaszow concentration camp, and James Moll filmed their meeting.

As several viewers have noted, Monika comes across as the more sympathetic of the two women. Monika allows her emotions to show. She weeps profusely when meeting Helen and appears to be approaching Helen for a hug. Helen rebuffs her. It is clear that Helen was severely hurt by her childhood experiences, and has never fully recovered. She still views the world as hostile, even when it is not. Monika is not an enemy. It is her profound misfortune to be the biological child of a very evil man, but she herself is not evil. One would have liked to have seen Helen express the forgiveness for which Monika so obviously hungers.

Monika never knew her father, and comes to know him from others' accounts, including Spielberg's and Fiennes' depiction of Goeth in "Schindler's List." Helen fleshes out the depiction. Goeth pushed Helen, a mere child, down the stairs in his home several times. He knew that Helen, his little slave, had a boyfriend, Adam. One day Goeth teasingly asked Helen where Adam was, and, then, within minutes, shot Adam. Goeth kept two large dogs at Plaszow. He trained them to maul and kill human victims. He robbed Jews before killing them. Monika has a cigarette case from her father. She suspected that he stole it from one of his Jewish victims.

Most mysterious is Monika's mother, Ruth Kalder. No one in the documentary mentions it, but, weirdly, Ruth looks Jewish; certainly her features are those that Nazis would identify as Jewish. She had abundant, striking black hair and a prominent nose, which Monika inherited. In one photo, Ruth looks very much like Chico Marx. This is not a wisecrack, but a statement of fact. It's more than a little odd that Goeth would select a girl who looked so Jewish, even as he sent thousands of Jews to their deaths for their allegedly obvious "racial inferiority," a racial inferiority that was supposed to be obvious in their dark Semitic features, allegedly so different from blond Aryan superiority. One has to ask, why did Ruth love Goeth? The documentary does not probe this pressing question.

"Inheritance" includes archival film footage of the actual execution, by hanging, of Amon Goeth. It was a grotesque event. Hangmen need to know their physics. Length of rope and drop must be calculated to produce a clean death. The masked executioners in Poland tried to kill Goeth two times before getting it right on the third try. The viewer may question why it is important to view this spectacle of death.

I would like to have seen some harder questions asked of each character. Monika: Point blank, did you inherit any of your father's evil? Where did that evil come from? Where did it go? Is he in hell? Can God ever forgive men like Amon Goeth? What would you do if you were God? Would you send your father to hell forever? If not, why not?

Helen: Will you ever be able to forgive? Will you ever be able to move on? Will you always be stuck in victim mode? Why are you so harsh with Monika?

What about Helen's children? I would have liked to have heard more about their experience of being children of survivors. I would have liked to have seen some depth given to Poland. The bulk of this film was shot in Poland. There were Germans and Jews but there were Polish victims and heroes and perpetrators as well. Poland isn't even background in this doc and that is a failing. Two suicides and one drug addiction are mentioned, but not explored. In short, I was very moved by this documentary, but I would like to have seen it go deeper into the very big questions it touches on.

This was an incredible opportunity that in my opinion was blown. I think before these two met it would have been helpful if they had known or it was made clear what they hoped to gain from the encounter. Instead it feels like they were just thrown together and neither truely knew what they were after, Also I think the beginning stories, explanations, details of their lives were too short and uninvolved. The whole thing seemed to need more detail. As for the editors review saying that it felt intrusive at times.....I am not sure thats the proper wording. These woman each had different hopes for themselves. Goeths daugther gave the impression that she wanted Helen to tell her she was indeed not like her father. Monika can't seem to come to terms wth the fact that she has to determine her own worth and recognize she is indeed not her father on her own. Helen is much more sad in my opinion. A life full of pain and hurt. It is hard to truely appreciate all that must have been taken from her and what she was able to reclaim during the visit. A truely heartbreaking scene was when she stood on the steps of Goeths old house and told about how many times she was pushed down them by him and how she went up the steps 2 at a time out of fear. I did not go away thinking these two were friends. I think it was because I am not sure they had the opportunity to think about what they wanted from each other. Monika wanted to feel less guilt I think. Helen wanted justice, understanding, perhaps to get her power, dignity, and worth back.....so many things perhps....its too hard to imagine. I think Each of the ladies should have been asked more questions about their meeting prior to going, perhaps a psychiatrist could have prepared them better. But I think the meeting might have gone better, had they knew what they wanted more. Its a good program, but leaves you wanting more closure nd more information.

This is the most heart wrenching story I have read or heard about. I had such sympathy for Monika Herting. She never had the suport group to help her through her terrible times where as Helen Rosenzweig did have emotional help when she needed it. Helen carried carried such a heavy burden for years. Sins of the father is never the fault of the children. Helen is now talking to young people and doing charity work through different outlets. She is to be admired and loved for her courage. Helen was not as warm towards Monika as I would have liked. No one is holier than thou.

I found this by accident and found it truly amazing. Having seen and read a lot on the subject lately, some hit a nerve harder than others. This documentary totally blew me away. Words fail me to do it justice in describing the range of emotions I experienced. Wonderful film (although awful topics) and high-quality production.

shows some scenery of poland and the area where amon goeth lived... the story of amon goeth's daughter and one of amon goeth's victims.. and how they both came to terms with the horrors of his crimes.

An excellent story. We need to recognize how our actions effect those we love and have lasting effects upon them. In this tragic story it shows how the cruelty cannot be erased.

I've nothing more to add to the other 5 star reviews other than to say that this exceptionally well made documentary of the meeting between the daughter of Nazi commandant Amon Goeth, Monika Hetwig, and Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, (one of Goeth's captive Jewish servants) was emotionally riveting. (Ms. Jonas-Rosenzweig was also interviewed for the extra features of the Schindler's List DVD.) These two women had great courage to allow themselves to be filmed as each step of their meeting unfolded. James Moll, the director, was also the director of The Last Days, another exceptional film.