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Uprising

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"Uprising" is a story of the Holocaust that really could not be told until NBC showed this two-part made-for-television movie in 2001. The story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising has been told before. In the 1978 mini-series "Holocaust," a major subplot had to do with Moses Weiss (Sam Wanamker), who becomes active in the uprising before being caught and shot by the Nazis at the end. Other movies dealing with the Holocaust have touched on this heroic but futile act of resistance against Hitler's army. This time, however, the point is to cast the uprising in terms that count for more than a moral victory.

When Poland fell to Nazi Germany the city's Jewish population was put into a walled in section of the city, thereby creating the ghetto. In the summer of 1942, after 300,000 Jews were deported from Warsaw to Treblinka the first reports of mass murder were heard in the Warsaw ghetto. Mordecai Anielewicz, then 23-years-old, and other young Jews formed the Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (Jewish Fighting Organization), issuing proclamations calling for the Jewish people to resist being sent away in railroad cars to the death caps, and firing upon German troops trying to round by Jews for deportation.

The "Uprising" began on April 19, 1943, when German troops and police entered the ghetto and were repulsed by the fighters. It is believed that less than a thousand such fighters held off the heavily armed and better trained Germans for almost a month, using mostly pistols and Molotov cocktails, but on May 16 the revolt was finally crushed. Seven thousand of the 56,000 Jews captured were shot, and the rest were deported to either killing centers or concentration camps to be exterminated by the Nazis. At one point the Warsaw ghetto consisted of 450,000 human beings.

The point of "Uprising" is not only that for the first time somebody stood up against German occupation, but that some of the fighters did indeed survive. Mordechai Anielewicz (Hank Azaria), Yitzhak Zuckerman (David Schwimmer), Tosia Altman (Leelee Sobieski), and many others depicted in "Uprising" are historic figures. Azaria and Schwimmer obviously stand out, not because of the roles they play in the narrative but also because the actors are going to great pains to remind fans they are not just comic actors. Also standing out are Sadie Frost as Zuckerman's wife, Zivia, and Stephen Moyer as freedom fighter Kazik Rodem, who wrestle with the hard questions of not only knowing what to do, but how to do it. Director and executive producer Jon Avnet has recreated the ghetto in great detail and makes full use of cinematographer Denis Lenoir and composer Maurice Jarre to make sure this television movie looks and sounds like a theatrical film.

"Uprising" repeatedly asks the question of how a moral person can sustain a moral code in an immoral world, and the uprising serves as the obvious answer. Where "Uprising" is different from its predecessors is how Avnet recasts history to emphasize a sense of how the Jews "win" here. Even though the Nazis will kill 99% of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, they did not get them all and they did not get them fast enough to please Himmler and Hitler. Nazi General Jurgen Stroop has to endure being out thought and out fought by a bunch of rabble, all the way having his failure filmed by documentarian Fritz Hippler, who is working on "The Eternal Jew" because for some reason the Nazis do not find the German people to be anti-Semitic enough. The Nazis continue to commit atrocities throughout this movie, but the emphasis is clearly on what the other side is doing.

"The Grey Zone," which also came out in 2001, is of a similar mind in terms of presenting Jews fighting back, and depicts the October 7, 1944 uprising when members of the 12th sonder-kommando succeeded in blowing up two of the four crematoria at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The sonder-kommandos were the ones who escorted their fellow Jews to die in the gas chambers, then took the bodies to the crematoriums, and disposed of the ashes. For four months the sonder-kommandos carried out their duties, and enjoyed certain privileges (compared to the other inmates), and then were executed. This group of Jews also decided to fight back and like those who resisted the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto, deserve to be remembered. But only once we have accepted the total horror and scope of the Holocaust can we tell stories such as these, ever mindful that they represent a minority report. How many of you were stunned with a train full of Jews left Auschwitz in "Schindler's List"? The incident was true, but it becomes difficult for us to accept that other side of the story given the overwhelming death count of the Final Solution.

The two commentary tracks are a mixed bag. Avnet spends too much time commenting on the historical accuracy of the action and not enough talking about his decisions as a director, particularly with regards to what changes he had to make when his planned theatrical film was downgraded to a television movie. Azaria, Schwimmer, and Voight recorded their commentary two weeks about September 11th, and engage each other to talk about the production and their performances. Sobieski's comments were recorded separately and edited in, and like Avent, she has a hard time going it alone. There are two documentaries accompanying "Uprising." "Resistance" is a too brief look at the history of the resistance movement in the Warsaw ghetto, although it does provide background on the characters and interviews with some of the surviving fighters. "Breaking Down the Walls: The Road to Recreating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising," is a behind the scenes featurette with clips and interviews. However, anyone inspired to find out more about the history of the events dramatized here will find plenty of resources easily accessible on the Internet.

A full telling of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto is rare - normally it's a short segment of a longer tale about WWII or the Holocaust. So this DVD is a welome addition to historical drama and complaints about a lack of pace or action are unfair.

The Jews walled up in the ghetto did not have huge arsenals of weapons and the people who became heroes were ordinary citizens -hence the lack of a huge cast of big-name stars is welcome. And the performances coaxed from the likes of Cary Lewes, as the sickeningly anti-semitic film-maker Fritz Hippler are worthy of praise. And it was a revelation to see David (Friends) Schwimmer turning in such a heart-rendering turn as one of the heroes of the revolt (and he gets full marks for a realistic but not-over-the-top accent).

Where the drama falls short - as all are bound to - is the inability to reveal the true horror these human beings were forced to endure - and for how long. A 10-part mini-series mihght give some idea of scale of time. The drama Tenko, about women interned by the Japanese, ran for three series! Also missing was the role played by very young children in getting information and food in and out of the Aryan side of Poland.

However, not enough people know enough about this dark period of history so Uprising should be seen.

I have seen a variety of Holocaust films, due to my interest in World War II, and I would have to say this is probably one of the best, if not the best, that I've ever seen.

Uprising brings to us everything that Schindler's List does: touching story, great cinematography, and good actors. However, instead of focusing on a middleman such as Schindler (German helping Jews), this film focuses on the Jews helping themselves.

The emotions were strongly carried through due to overall great performances from many actors: Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland, and many more.

This is film of hope, love, and cherishing life while you have it, all while in the toughest of times. These people overcame enormous odds by standing up to the oppressive and barbarous reign of the Germans, and not unlike one of the German characters, we now have it on film. Moreover, it is a great film.

I recently finished reading Conversations with Executioner which is Jurgen Stroop's account of what happened in the ghetto. The first half of the movie very well shows the living conditions in the ghetto and the brutality of the germans. Also the building of the wall around the ghetto and ways to sneak out were very realistic. Donald Suterland's acting is great, and he very well portrais the role of head of jewish council. Hank Azaria's acting was wonderful he really brought the character of Mordechai Anielewicz to life and in contrast David Schwimmer's performace was posibly worst I seen of him so far, he looked the part but with hard to place accent which faded in and out and lack of realism he should have been replaced with someone else. The movie takes a turn for the worse in the second half when the actual uprising starts. I was surprised that there was very little mention of the Polish Underground Army which has helped the jews in the ghetto in many ways from supplying weapons to supplying food and building materials for the bunkers. Overall the entire fighting seemed too claen and too orderly. There are repeated scenes and unrealistic scenes of battle. Also in his report and his confessions in prison Stroop never mentioned using gas in the ghetto. Most german attacks are shown as disorganized and chaotic, they were like that before Stroop took over the command, at which point he had very well organized attacks especially with flame throwers and large caliber anti-aircraft guns. Also at the time in Poland from a builders stand point houses were built out of red brick some from concrete and all had red clay shingles roofing, during the fighting you can see that the houses which are being destroyed are made from wood and drywall and roofs are covered in modern asphalt shingles. All those small details build up and take away from the big picture.
In conclusion this is a good movie however Andrzej Wajda made a better one. I suggest seeing both.

This movie is about the Jewish uprising in Warsaw during World War 2. All in all-it's a pretty good movie--but as the movie seeks to use Goebbel's propaganda movie "The Eternal Jew"-to show how the Nazis dehumanized the Jewish people-this movie does the same thing to the Germans-not that the Nazis weren't evil--but every German in this movie is either totaly wicked--or mere cannon fodder--deserving whatever evil befalls them.
That quibble aside--the movie presents a fairly accurate account of the uprising and is worth watching. I had a hard time taking David Schwimmer in a serious role--though there was nothing wrong with his performance--and Donald Sutherland seemed ill cast- like he was merely reprising his role from "Citizen X"
Though I enjoyed this movie--I would recommend Wajda's "Kanal"-for a great movie about "the sewers" and for putting a "face" to the Jewish victims-I would recommend the Czech movie "The Shop on Main Street"
In no way denigrating this movie--which I do recommend--but I feel both of the movies mentioned are superior--for those who have more than a casual interest in the subject matter--and don't mind sub-titles.

Tells the story of the Nazi oppression of the Jews in the Ghetto of Warshaw and the Jews rebellion. The film starts in 1939 with the growing list of prohibitions and regulations leading to the virtual imprisonment of half-a-million Polish Jews in an old district of Warsaw. Their daily struggle against hunger and disease is made worse when the Nazis start their deportations. Under the guidance of a few men, members of the community decide that if they have to die they will only do so fighting-they will not die passively. So they build shelters and bunkers in the basements and cellars of buildings, often with tunnels that lead to other buildings; they collect arms and ammunition for battle; and they fight the Germans. It is an important story for people to know; the acting itself is okay. One question that repeatedly comes up is "can a moral man maintain his morals in an immoral age (or at an immoral time)?" Some of the most sickening scenes are those that show horrible propoganda films. I guess the reason I like the story is because I have always been horrified and sickened by the Holocaust and I get some gratification watching these people take on their evil oppressors. I don't want to spoil the end but there are a couple of success stories told at the end. Ultimately, the movie itself is okay but everyone should know the history of this resistance movement and how this small group of Jews were able to succeed against their much bigger oppressor and enemy.

"Uprising" is an inspirational story on survival and resistance under impossible odds. However, the film is far from a historical presentation of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The producers filled the film with half-truths and misrepresentations of the Polish assistance to the Ghetto Uprising. The Polish resistance or AK provided any available support even though their own munitions were scarce and crude in comparison to the well-armed Germans. One of the famous Jewish fighters, Marek Edelman, stated that the uprising would not be possible without the needed support of the Polish resistance. In addition, Poles provided valuable knowledge on military tactics along with techniques on bomb assembly and other weaponry for guerilla warfare.

The credibility of the film is lost when the general Polish population is displayed as a disconcern when the ghetto burned as exhibited during the communion service in the Catholic Church. It is well documented that the Poles were filled with horror, sorrow, fear and helplessness towards the plight of the ghetto Jews. In reality, closing all Polish Catholic Churches would be in the best interest of the Germans since Churches provided a multitude of hiding places for Jewish survivors.

The film falsely depicts the Polish population as well-fed and prosperous under the German occupation while the ghetto suffered. Starvation was the norm for both Jews and Poles while Poles lived in constant fear of unexpected rounded-ups where Poles were murdered in the street or sent to forced labor camps. Normal life in Poland became upturned and violated.

Another impossible scene shows an anti-semitic Polish secretary in the Pawiak or German gestapo headquarters. In reality a great deal of Polish AK blood was spilled on the floors of the Pawiak and a Pole would not be trusted in the Pawiak.

Both Poles and Jews suffered the same loss of life by the murder of 3,000,000 Polish Catholics and 3,000,000 Polish Jews during World World II. The complete ignorance of Polish sacrifice for the ghetto Jews is a disgrace to the Polish Righteous Gentiles. The largest number of RighteousGentiles, recognized in the Vad Vasham museum in Israel, are from Poland.

In summary "Uprising" is an inspirational film on human resilience against impossible odds but is extremely deficient in historical and factual content. The heroism of the Jewish ZOB resistance fighters offers a great amount of content to motivate viewers. However, the producers of "Uprising" resorted to degrade the immense sacrifice of the Poles to elevate the suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto. Shame on Jon Avnet and his team by resorting to these low and unscrupulous tactics.

I didn't understand what was with the scene in the church. Yes, the organ music makes the deaths of people jumping out of burning buildings more compelling but I don't see the connection between the Latin songs and organ music. And what was with Hippler? I could not understand him or the proganda movies he makes. I really didn't think the movie needed him. Where were the gentiles when you needed them? In real life, they weren't invisible and took an active role against the Germans. Why would they show Pole visitors to the underground headquarters when they suddenly disappear? Except for the guy who gets threatened at gunpoint in the sewer but I don't remember him coming with the other visitors. Why would the gentile Poles visit the tunnels without helping them? I think they must have been stupid to leave a simple plot detail unfinished. But the acting was good. It was pretty funny that Stroop likes his table so much. And it is a good thing that they they hold on to their honor no matter what. It was pretty compelling showing the disaster realistically. It was pure awe when I saw how much the ghetto looked like Ground Zero after so much destruction. But why not a more accurate depiction of the Gentile Poles?

I recently watched the DVD of Uprising and read the book "Two Flags Return to the Warsaw Ghetto" by Marian Apfelbaum.

I found the movie Uprising moderately entertaining as an action movie if I didn't dwell on the details too much. The best part of the movie was the build up to the Uprising. The battle scenes although looked good were a bit too far fetched for me. They should have people asking where all the firepower turned up from. Von Stroop was entertaining as he progressively lost his rag over the granades being thrown at his desk outside the Ghetto.

The real problem is with the factual details, lack of them or how they have been altered. The characters are based on real ones, and the event The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising a tragic and real event, but the way events play out in the movie do not match those of someone who was actually there Marian Apfelbaum. The relationship between the Judenrat and police and the rest of the Ghetto although shows general friction as in the Captain of the police being shot by the ZOB for his force aiding the Germans could have gone further.

There were two main fighting organisations in the Ghetto; the ZZW formed with the encouragement and help of the Polish AK in 1939 and the Communist leaning ZOB formed much later. ZZW were predominately ex-Polish army officers and NCO's who had good contacts with the Polish resistance outside of the Ghetto. The actions appear to be attributed to the ZOB when in fact it was the ZZW that inflicted the bulk of the casualties on the nazis.

"The ZOB came into existance at the end of 1942...It had practically no experianced officers and few weapons - 90 pistols, 500 defensive grenades, 100 attack grenades, 15 kilos of plastic explosive, detonators, a light machine gun, a sub machine gun, all arms supplied by the AK" M.A.

The movie shows no involvement of Poles with the supplying of arms, food or evacuation of Jews from the Ghetto during the time it was there. In fact several thousand Jews escaped through the tunnels the Poles dug into the Ghetto before the Uprising began and several hundred during the Uprising. In fact a scene showing a meeting between Poles partisans and Jewish rebels shows the Poles turning down the Jews request for help. This is completely false. The Poles supplied enough armaments to the ZZW for them to be armed 100%. In perspective only 1 in 15 Polish partisans who took part in the Warsaw Uprising the following year had a fire-arm. The Poles were not as generous with the ZOB, because they did not know the members, were not interested in aiding Communist leaning organisations and did not believe the ZOB would fight.

The importance the Poles placed on the organisation of the ZZW can be shown by this passage in "Two Flags".."A meeting that took place at the urging of the OW-KB (AK) on January 10 1940, was to have decisive and far reaching political consequences. Participating on behalf of the AK was Zofia Sikorska-Lesniowska, General Sikorski's daughter...and high ranking officers and political leaders. The main guest was Adam Czerniakow, chairman of the Warsaw Judenrat". General Sikorski was the wartime leader of the Poles until his death in Gibralter in 1943.

Marian Apfelbaum goes into detail how Poles entered the Ghetto bringing supplies and leading out escapees. Notably Captain Henryk Iwanski a founder member of the ZZW.

His book is also important in that he reveals the political differences between the two organisations which were so deep they managed to extend past the war and I believe still would exist today. I seem to recall that a few years ago an Israeli member of govenment was in Poland for the anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising a paid tribute to the members of the ZOB, and was reminded by the Poles that there was also the ZZW.

As I believe most of israeli politicians currently are on the political left this would explain one of the reasons why the ZZW has virtually been written out of history. ZZW was politically right leaning and I'm sure this antagonism is between political ideologies is repeated the world over. In this case it has nearly cost a brave group of people mainly Jewish, but many Poles too, the credit they deserve, which Marian Apfelbaum with his book "Two Flags" has sought to highlight.

A very realistic, non-hyped version of the phenominal courage of a people who fought to their death against all odds. Inspiring, informative, exausting. I will watch it many times.