Lovers in Minsk: The Jewess and the Captain

"It was very dangerous for him and he knew it. But his love for me was stronger than his fear." So says Ilse Stein, a German-born Jew who spent her life in Soviet Russia as she recalls Willi Schultz, the Nazi captain who saved her life. The pair are the namesakes of Ulf von Mechow's moving documentary. On the morning of March 30, 1943, as the Red Army was advancing and the Nazis prepared to liquidate the Minsk ghetto, Captain Schultz deserted the German army and helped Stein escape along with 25 Russian Jews. Safe in the forest among Soviet partisans, Stein and Schultz enjoyed a six-month romance until they were separated by the Soviet secret service. The film follows Stein's return to Minsk where, in 1992, Jews met in public for the first time in 50 years to commemorate those who perished. She and other survivors recount their experiences after a half-century of silence. This fascinating film relates an amazing and unlikely love story but also affords us a precious window onto the painful, little-known history of Belorussian Jews during WWII. 1995 Berlin Film Festival.

Ulf von Mechow Born in Munich, 1939 Assistant Director with various German and American film directors: Kurt Wilheim, R.A. Stemmle, John Huston, Delbert Mann, Nicholas Ray. Translator of several feature films: German versions of: EASY RIDER, ALICE'S RESTAURANT, PERFORMANCE. Writer/Director Feature film: DAVID AND THE ICE AGE (WINTERMARCHEN) Festival invitations to Edinburgh, London, Bergamo, Adelaide/Auckland ("Best First Feature Film 1972") Writer/Director/Producer of numerous documentary films, mostly about historical and ethnological subjects, such as MAMA MAKONDE or HOW FAR IS AFRICA? (45 min.) - ARD WHITE MAN AND BLACK ART (45 min.) - ARD ADOLPHUS BUSH, Fragments of an American Dream (feature length documentary) WAITING FOR GLASNOST - Catholics in the Ukraine (45 min.) -ZDF LEMBERG - Journey to a forgotten Town (45 min.) - ARD SANSIBAR - Location of History (60 min.) - ARD O JON JEMBO or THE YEAR OF THE GUN (60 min.) - ARD/arte THE JEWESS AND THE CAPTAIN (90 min.) - feature length documentary A LOVE IN THE GHETTO (LES AMOUREUX DE MINSK) (55 min.) - ARD/FRANCE3 VARIAATIONS IN E - A Musical Journey in Europe (90 min.) - ARD/arte (French title: CARNET DE NOTES, TROIS PASSIONS: LA MUSIQUE) German Co-Producer WOMEN'S RISE TO POWER (LA MNTEE AU POUVOIR DES FEMMES) Director: Guylaine Guidez, Producer: Bailleul Production, Paris TV documentary in three parts, supported by MAP-TV and EURIMAGES.