Cinema under the dome

Hotel Polan and its guests part 1

Kino unter der Kuppel – Filmstreifen auf der Neuen Synagoge Berlin

After the summer break, we are continuing our film series "Cinema under the dome: images of Jews in GDR films and television" and showing the multi-part "Hotel Polan and its guests".the series tells the story of a Jewish hotelier family living in Bohemia over several generations, from the Habsburg era to the Holocaust. It is regarded as the GDR counterpart to the US series "Holocaust", which led to a break in the public discourse on the Shoah.

Part I: "Family" is set during the First World War. German nationalists attempt to seize the Polan family's famous Bohemia Hotel in a devious plot. But the Polans become the patrons of their guests from all over Europe. The diversity of the characters is a cross-section of the diversity of European-Jewish experiences at the beginning of the 20th century. A French aristocrat, a German-Jewish officer and a Polish horse dealer come together. They speak different languages and represent diverse political opinions and religious viewpoints. The focus on the peculiarities of Jewish religious life was also an absolute rarity in the GDR.

Nevertheless, the series as a whole is worthy of criticism. It invents an almost fabulous orthodox "Eastern Jewry", including an exaggerated Yiddish accent, and Zionist figures appear as unscrupulous capitalist villains, in line with GDR doctrine. Even Jewish members of the SED criticized the series as inflammatory "à la 'Stürmer'".

The screening will be followed by a discussion with: - Marion Brasch, journalist and writer- Dr. Lisa Schoß, film scholar- Jess Earle, employee of the New Synagogue Berlin Foundation - Centrum Judaicum

The event series is a cooperation with the DEFA Foundation and the Jewish Film Festival Berlin-Brandenburg and is generously supported by the Ursula-Lachnit-Fixson-Foundation.

Participation is free of charge

Location: Representatives' Hall in the New Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum, Oranienburger Straße 28-30, 10117 Berlin

Registration: | 030 880 28 316

** Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the event, as the security check at the entrance may take some time **Translated with DeepL

Booking: 030 880 28 316

Next date:

• Date Wednesday, 28/August/2024 18:00 bis 21:30
• Venue Neue Synagoge - Centrum Judaicum
• Address Oranienburger Straße 28, 10117 Berlin-Mitte