Full Description
A highly personal portrait of the great Dutch historian Jacob Presser. Presser's brilliant, witty, and sad narrative is set against the backdrop of the upheavals of 20th-century Europe: the Russian Revolution, the Depression, and Hitler's rise to power. Presser recounts his childhood in Amsterdam's Jewish ghetto, his twin fascination with socialism and the Renaissance, and his dreamy marriage amidst a crumbling world. As the persecution of Jews intensified, his students and eventually his wife were taken from him, and he was forced to go underground. He speaks candidly about the guilt of survival, the Jewish establishment, and those who were guilty by default. His attempt to make sense of his experiences resulted in his published masterpiece Ashes in the Wind: The Destruction of Dutch Jewry, which created a stir because of its exposé of prominent Dutch citizens as Nazi collaborators. 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
