Directed by: Claude Lanzmann.
Written by: Claude Lanzmann
While
shooting what would become Shoah, director Claude Lanzmann filmed an interview
with Maurice Rossel, a Swiss citizen who to get out of Military duty (he says
he was bored by it) joined the International Red Cross. During WWII, he was
sent to Germany to “inspect” the Prisoner of War camps that the Germans were
running. They agreed to let Rossel inspect those camps, because they didn’t
really have a choice – International Law required that they give the Red Cross
access to POW camps. The Germans however argued that the Red Cross had no
jurisdiction over the Jewish ghettos or camps – these were civilians they had
“detained” and as such, the Red Cross had no business inspecting them. Rossel
paid an “informal” visit to Auschwitz – and found the Germans “very polite” –
and though he saw the skeleton like prisoners who were so close to death that
he felt like a ”visitor from the living” – he really couldn’t do much about it.
The Germans did let him formally inspect Theresienstadt – a Jewish ghetto that
is now well known as a “show” ghetto – where the prisoners were treated better
(not great, but better) than anywhere else so that the Germans could try and
show the outside world they were treating the Jews well. This was a lie – many
still died in Theresienstadt – and the residents were almost all eventually
sent to their death in the camps. Rossel wrote a glowing review of Theresienstadt
for his superiors.
As
Lanzmann showed in Shoah, he is merciless as an interviewer – hammering away at
his subject, no matter if they were victim, witness or abuser. Perhaps because
A Visitor from the Living is made up entirely of his interview with Rossel –
intercut, like Shoah was, with shots of current location, Lanzmann appears to
be even rougher on Rossel than he was with just about anyone in Shoah. But this
is also because Lanzmann is clearly frustrated with Rossel – wanting to know
how he could be so willfully ignorant at the time of his visit to Theresienstadt
– and how he can seem to still be that ignorant. When Lanzmann asks him if he
regrets his report, Rossel replies that he would write the same report today
(this was 1979) – he reported what he saw. None of the Jews passed him or note
or gave him any indication that they were being abused in anyway. Only “dozens”
died daily in the ghetto, which while overcrowded, seemed to Rossel to be well
run – the residents well fed. There was even a children’s playground. How and
could it have been?
Lanzmann
undoubtedly has the benefit of hindsight – he knows the truth of Theresienstadt
which was well documented by the 1970s. But he also has to be that frustrated
because Rossel doesn’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation – and doesn’t
want to admit that he messed up. Rossel was obviously not responsible for what
happened in Theresienstadt, but had he written a more clear eyed report,
perhaps it would have brought more attention to what was happening that it
ultimately did. Like many of the witnesses that Lanzmann interviewed in Shoah,
he seems to be someone who turned a blind eye to what was really going on.
The
opening scrawl of the movie seems to indicate that between the time the interview
was filmed – in 1979 – and when this film was released – in 1999 – that Rossel
at least has a better understanding of what happened – and is role in it. The
final two lines in that scrawl written by Lanzmann indicate that Rossel asked
him not to make him look stupid, and Lanzmann replying “I did not try to” – a
clear indication that Lanzmann views Rossel’s ignorance in the interview as
Rossel’s own fault – which is true.
Lanzmann
was right to exclude this interview from Shoah. It would have introduced
another entire facet to the movie that was already well over 9 hours – and so
he would have had to shoehorn it into a movie where it didn’t really fit. But
he was also right in thinking that this is an interesting subject, deserving of
its own movie to explore. Even though the movie is only 68 minutes, it’s
fascinating throughout, one where you’ll likely find yourself as frustrated as
Lanzmann was while interviewing Rossel.
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