Synopsis
The story of Johanna Langefeld is the only known case of an SS guard being saved from a death sentence after the war by her own victims. In 1946, she escaped from a Cracow prison where she was awaiting trial. Her former prisoners not only helped her escape but also hid her from the Polish authorities for ten years. What were their motives?
Woman and War – Perpetrators and victims
The film explores the only known case of a high-ranking SS guard being supported by her own victims: Johanna Langefeld, chief-guard of the concentration camps for women in Auschwitz and Ravensbrueck, awaited trial for Nazi war crimes and escaped 23th Dec. 1946 with the help of Polish survivors of the Ravensbrueck concentration camp. The story was kept secret because its disclosure threatened punishment, both for the former German SS-guard, as well as for the Polish escape supporters.
The film authors jointly spoke with Polish survivors. They all share a real positive opinion about Johanna Langefeld. Former statements in trials confirm that she was no sadist but that Langefeld was a strongly convinced Nazi and anti-Semite. She ordered hard punishments and was involved in deportations into the gas chambers from Ravensbrück in Bernburg and Auschwitz.
Based on archival materials and witnesses, the film tries an approach to a high-ranking both Nazi-perpetrator and saviour. The Polish and German author will enhance the view at the Polish-German history from both perspectives seeking to clarify this mysterious episode of the early post-war era.
Who was Johanna Langefeld?
Co-production Arkadia Film and Rohde-Dahl Filmproduktion with RBB, MDR and the Krakow Film Commission, with the support of The Polish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Eurimages Fund, Creative Europe Desk Poland, The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, 2019
