Die Feuerprobe – Novemberpogrom 1938

In the night from the 9th to the 10th November 1938, more than 20,000 Jews across Germany were arrested and deported to concentration camps, thousands of Jewish shops were plundered and synagogues destroyed. Erwin Leiser was 15 at the time and experienced the so-called “Reichskristallnacht” and its aftermath in Berlin before he was able to flee to Sweden at the start of 1939. In his film DIE FEUERPROBE – NOVEMBERPOGROM 1938, he connects rare historical footage of the pogrom with descriptions from eye witnesses and creates a piercing documentary that doesn’t just describe this early escalation in anti-Semitic violence, but also emphasizes the significance of Kristallnacht as a turning point in the persecution of the Jews.
A premiere of the digital restoration that was made possible by the Film Heritage funding program supported by the BKM, the Länder and FFA. (Gesa Knolle)