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Watermarks - The Jewish swimming champions who defied Hitler

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For those who have an interest in Jewish life in pre-World War II Vienna, this film is the best source for a glimpse into that world: a burgeoning world where Jews thrived and above all were happy, well-adjusted Viennese.

The women who tell their stories describe their childhoods and parents in early 20th century Vienna and participation in the great Jewish swim team, Hakoah - and the changes in Vienna that took place in the 1930s leading to their emigration to countries all over the world and the rude ending of their competitive swimming careers. The women's courage - and wit - come across beautifully. One sees the side of these women that is still Viennese (reciting Austrian verse by heart in a Mushav in Israel, singing along to songs by Leopoldi) while also seeing them in their homes of 50 years in the United States or Israel - where it becomes apparent that the women have since managed also to become American, Israeli, etc - whereever they ended up after the war. At the end of the film they return to Vienna to swim one more lap in the pool where they once competed.

You will cherish this film as a magnificently made documentary about an extraordinary group of women whose youth was spent in a place (thriving, burgeoning Jewish Vienna) that sadly no longer exists - but should never be forgotten.

This is a film about remarkable people. In Vienna in the 1930's,
a Jewish sportsclub HAKOAH organized athletes in several categories but the most impressive were the women swimmers. In fact, one of these Jewish athletes was the best female swimmer in Austria. Nevertheless, at great "personal cost" to her, she
refused to go to Hitler's Berlin Oympics in 1936 and all her
records were stricken and she was forbidden to compete. 65 years later, 7 of these swimmers (now in their 80's) are brought together and they swim together, once more, in a famous Vienna pool. The Boston Globe remarked (correctly) that the images of these women in the pool is beautiful and a little bit holy. They move like angels in water. Their stories are fascinating and
the people glow with intelligence, warmth, and goodness. My friend and I both had tears by the end of the film.

"Watermarks" is a remarkable documentary, as remarkable as the women whose stories it tells. It harkens back to early 20th century Vienna, Austria, a time when the Jewish community was well-settled, prosperous, and largely assimilated, and tells the true story of Hakoah, a Jewish sports club, the largest membership sports club in the world. We mainly learn about the women's swim team: they are charming, intelligent, high-spirited, and as independent as the times allow them to be. These women were athletes, and in the old footage, you can see that they just loved to swim: there's even a lot of footage of their happily diving into the Danube River, which, at that time, must have been as unpleasant an open sewer as most of the world's other major urban rivers.

During the 1930's,three of these women were ranked the numbers 1-2-3- Austrian swimmers. They had to make a choice about participation in the 1936 Olympics, in Hitler's Germany, and chose not to attend. The Austrian Sports Board thereupon stripped them of their titles. Of course, there was worse to come, but these Viennese women were quite sophisticated enough to recognize that: they,and their families all got out of Austria in time. They follow their motto "Say yes to life," in exile, and prove every bit as remarkable as they were at home. Finally, as part of the making of this documentary, the remaining women who were able to travel reassemble in Vienna, and take one more swim in the great and beautiful sports hall of their youthful triumphs. There's sheer joy as they slip into the water again; and not a dry eye in the house.

Very refreshing aand heartening true story that should serve to inspire us all, especially in today's rather sorry world. We need to learn of the bravado and courage that brought others to such heights.

This documentary takes a footnote in sports history and wonderfully illuminates the human drama behind it. It's difficult to add to the glowing comments already made here about this film. Probably it's most remarkable achievement is the evocation of a time and place we already think we know well - the 1930s in Austria - where Jews have been traditionally banned from membership in sports clubs, and the anti-semitic rantings of Hitler are being embraced by a ready and willing public.

The existence of the Jewish sports organization, Hakoah, meant several things to the young women who became members of its Olympic-class swimming team at this critical point in European history. Watching the film, you marvel at how circumstance can dramatically shape the lives of individuals. In this case, it seizes them first out of anonymity and gives them identities as athletes; it introduces them to the growing Jewish community in Palestine that was to become Israel; then it saves them from the death camps by sending them in a last-minute diaspora to countries around the world where they live the rest of their lives - far from the middle-class Vienna that they had known and loved as young girls.

Now almost 70 years later, a handful of them gather in Vienna to meet again and relive the best memories of the past. Meanwhile, the ghost of that past also lives on, and the filmmakers do not shrink from including the most chilling of the memories as well. Worse still, the driver of a car service makes no secret of his own ambivalent opinion of Jews by referring to them unapologetically as "nonnatives." It's a fascinating film for its willingness to range across such a complex and difficult range of emotions. The DVD includes many extras including additional interview footage and deleted scenes.

This is a wonderful film that encompasses topics such as women in sport, antisemitism in Austria in the 30s, and aging.

The filmmaker, Yaron Zilberman, has carefully crafted this work of art, by researching the subject of a Jewish swim club in Vienna in the 30s, "Hakoah" ("the strength"). This club had a number of world class swimmers, who decided to ban the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Mr. Zilberman gently interviews the women, all in their 80s now, about their feelings vis-a-vis their return to Vienna for another swim in the pool they had swam in 60 years ago. The film climaxes in their reunion in Vienna, and the swim at the gorgeous art deco pool.

The film has moments of laughter, sadness, anger, awe, and irony. The choice of music adds another layer to the film a great deal.

I saw the film a number of times, and each time I discovered new layers in it. I highly recommend this film.

The Jewish sports club HaKoach (the strength) was formed in 1907, when Viennese sport clubs began to form, but alas, barred Jews.

At its peak, a former HaKoach officer reports, the club had more than 3,000 active youthful participants, who represented Austria in sports from soccer and fencing to swimming.

The film documents the reunion of seven champion Jewish swimmers who fled Vienna in August 1939, more than a year after the Anschluss, Hilter's annexation of Austria to Germany, and a month prior to the Hitler's attack on Poland beginning World War II.

It's a wonderfully touching documentary, and a testament to the human spirit.

---Alyssa A. Lappen

This is a compelling review of anti-semitism in Austria before and during the Hitler era, brought into current times when 7 champion swimmers who escaped to various parts of the world tell their stories and are then brought back to Vienna to swim together again.

This is a unique documentary and an invaluable addition to Holocaust and WW II collections. The documentary focuses on a group of elderly Jewish women who were once champion swimmers in Vienna, Austria. Due to the anti-Semitic politics of pre-war Vienna, these women swimmers had to join a Jewish only sports club called the Hakoah. Seven of these women return for a reunion after fleeing Vienna back in 1939, a wise move that saved their lives, as many other Austrian Jews were killed during the Holocaust.The documentary provides compelling insights into the prevalence of anti-Semitism in Austria which led to the formation of the Jewish sports club in the first place, back in 1907. The documentary moves back and forth in time between the past and the present, showing a vibrant and thriving Jewish culture in Vienna prior to WW II. The seven women swimmers who return to Vienna have since made their homes in different parts of the world such as the US and Israel. But their shared bond and experiences in pre-war Vienna bind them together as they relive their memories, both sweet and bitter.

It was also disheartening to see that anti-Semitism is still alive in present-day Vienna - there's a scene where a cab driver makes a comment, referring to the Jews as "non-natives." There's also a hauntingly beautiful scene in a cabaret where the song "Buchenwald March" elicits diverse reactions in the audience. The climactic scene is the most arresting - when these ladies, long past their prime, go for a final swim where it all began - such beauty and grace, and oh, how inspiring!