Respite

Camp Westerbork, situated near the Dutch-German border, was built in 1939 as a reception center for Jewish refugees, but under the Nazi occupation it transformed into a transit camp and became the gateway to hell for more than 100,000 Jews, Roma, Sinti and resistance fighters.

In 1944 camp commandant Gemmeker ordered a film to be made, probably to persuade his superiors of the economic benefits of Westerbork, which was threatened with closure. The camera operator was Jewish photographer Rudolf Breslauer. In 2017 the remnants of this never-completed film—featuring the unforgettable image of a Sinti girl looking out into the world from between two train carriage doors—were placed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

This essay-style documentary by German director Harun Farocki, renowned for his critical political documentaries and theories, breathes new life into the black-and-white images. The intertitles provide context for the ambiguous propaganda images presenting Westerbork as an efficient micro-society.

What can we infer from the scenes we see, and what is hidden from us? Farocki gently leads the viewer through his essay, and leaves the conclusions to us.