Kevin Bliss Mr. Neuburger Eng 102-127 Oct.

, 1 2012 Response Essay A Film Unfinished A Film Unfinished directed by Yael Hersonski demonstrates the unsettling ways the Jews were treated in the Warsaw Ghetto camp during WWII. The film shows how the Third Reich tries to deceive the world with propaganda showing staged situations in the Ghetto. This deception is done by showing both untrue economic statuses portrayed by actors as well as creating scenes the Jewish community would never take part in. In one scene an actress was seen moving flowers around in her wealthy apartment. A survivor stated in an interview Where would one have found a flower? We would have eaten the flower. The film crew films markets and food to make it look like people were living in reasonable conditions, but at the same time we see the bodies of the starving people lining the streets. At one point the film explains that it got to the point that there was a dead body every 100 feet. The funeral procession is a staged event showing Jews dying with dignity. Upon seeing the procession a survivor exclaims, But Jews dont bury their dead in a coffin. Later the mass grave shows just how undignified they were treated. When cameraman, Wist, is asked the purpose of the filming he claims he did not know for sure, but at one point it was explained that some of the staged scenes were meant to show that the righteous Gentiles were right in their views of the Jews when showing rituals that they supposedly took part in. The way the Jews were forced to appear indifferent to each others plight or even laugh as much as possible is very disturbing. They did so under threat of death. There were rumors that people were going to be deported to an unknown camp. Many of the actors felt that by acting well they would be spared from the deportation. In the end very few are spared. The appointed leader of the Warsaw Ghetto takes his own life to escape having to

issue further mass extermination orders. There is only so much people can take. It is not easy to see how cruel the Third Reich was to other human beings. It doesnt make sense that if this film was made simply to show the world that Jews were treated well, then why show all the horrible conditions and death that occurred. At the beginning of the film it mentions that this documentary was created to tell the untellable. It appears that when this film was filmed that it was uncertain the direction that the Reich wanted to go. Perhaps there were multiple reasons for its filming. In the end we have the raw footage that was probably never meant to be seen as a whole. For whatever reason, we are left with a disturbing view of just what some human beings are capable of doing to others.