Autobiography of a Lost Youth (The Last Generation of Yiddishland)

Synopsis

In the heart of Europe, an ill-defined continent was populated by 11 million Jews. A continent without borders, Yiddishland—a world forever buried in the Holocaust.

In 2017, 180,000 pages of texts written in Yiddish reappeared in Vilnius. These pages, hidden by the Paper brigade, forgotten for 80 years, were found in an abandoned church. Among these were 350 autobiographies written by young Jewish people aged between 16 and 22. They had been encouraged to write about themselves, without shame or restraint, as part of a competition for “the best autobiography of a young Jew” launched by the YIVO in 1932, 1934 and 1939.

They were religious, atheists, urban or rural dwellers, educated or not, working-class or well-off, ultra-orthodox or secularists, Zionists, anti-Zionists, feminists, socialists, or evolving from one condition and conviction to another, as historical events unfold.

In a polyphonic narrative, the film conveys their words, illustrated by a rich corpus of archive footage, including amateur and family home movies, as well as Yiddish cinema.

These lost voices, rescued from oblivion and remnants of a world soon to disappear, give us a glimpse into the concerns, inner conflicts and dreams of the last generation of Yiddishland teenagers.

About the Director

Jonathan Hayoun

Jonathan Hayoun is an author, filmmaker and essayist. The mediation and intercultural dialogue work he has carried out for years in schools and universities against prejudice, racism and anti-Semitism, has nurtured his approach, which is fulfilled today in documentaries and books. His work explores questions of identity, cultural heritage and collective memory and has been praised for its commitment and historical value. He is the co-author of several books, including “The Hand of the Devil: how the Far Right tried to seduce French Jews” (winner of the 2019 International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism Award) and “The Book of Jewish Humor” (2023). He has directed a number of documentaries, including “Anti-Semitism, 2000 Years of History” (ARTE, 4×52′, 2022). This series received grants from major institutions including the Claims Conference, it was widely distributed internationally, received great reviews and remains the 2nd best audience for a documentary series on ARTE.

Artistic Statement

My knowledge of this vanished world has been built mainly through the works of great writers, the testimonies of survivors and the work of historians. The discovery of this valuable corpus of biographies has completely changed my perception of the lives of young Jews in the 1930s. Written, for most of them, without any awareness of the catastrophe to come, these accounts take on a whole new dimension with the benefit of History’s hindsight. They offer an intimate experience of those years, which no historian’s account or perspective could ever convey in quite the same way.

My documentary work has acquainted me with the stories and archives that are central to this project and convinced me of the importance of highlighting personal stories. These autobiographies which reveal the questions and doubts, the need for emancipation of these young people, resonate with today’s youth in a powerful and universal way.