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The impossible and tragic love story between Helena Citron, a young Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz, and the Austrian SS officer Franz Wunsch.
Love, It Was Not■
Synopsis
Love, It Was Not is a tragic love story between a prisoner and a Nazi. Beautiful and full of life, Helena Citron, is taken to Auschwitz as a young woman, and soon finds unlikely solace under the protection of Franz Wunsch, a high-ranking SS officer who falls in love with her and her magnetic singing voice. Risking execution if caught, they went on with their forbidden relationship until the war ended and the camp was liberated.
Thirty years later, a letter arrives from Wunsch's wife asking Helena to “return the favour”-- testify on Wunsch's behalf. Faced with an impossible decision, Helena must choose. Will she help the man who brutalized so many lives, but saved hers?
Credits
Rating: TBC
Genre: Documentary, Drama, Romance
Director: Maya Sarfaty
Stars: Zipora Tahori, Shoshanna Orenstein (Helena Citron, Roza Citron, Franz Wunsch)
Reviews & Awards
“Rare in its powerful dramatic effect, this story unfolds before the viewers as they are led with confidence to meet captivating characters, experience superb editing, and discover brilliantly-treated archive footage. From beginning to end, the film balances the thin line between aggressor and victim, while managing to capture the horrors of war, present moving, living testimonies, explore the themes of memory and forgetting, and raise poignant questions about the deceptive power of love.” - Jury´s Justification – Frank Lowy Award for the Best Israeli Film
"Love It Was Not is remarkable not only for its unusual central story and unique creative execution, but also for its extensive eyewitness testimonies." - Alissa Simon, Variety
"The testimonies in the film brought back my own memories of Auschwitz. That's exactly how it was! I was moved by how this film was accurate..." - Yosef Shibek, an Auschwitz survivor
