Baltic Truth

Synopsis

Hosted by award-winning Israeli performer Dudu Fisher (Les Misérables), “BalticTruth” exposes the tragic events of the first months of WW2 in the Baltic States and how almost the entire Jewish community of the occupied Baltic Nations was eliminated by face to face executions, one bullet at a time with assistance of localpopulation, before the Final Solution, before Auschwitz, and before gas chambers.The film reflects the need for accuracy of Holocaust history, and does not allow the shifting of blame simply onto Nazis, and the exculpation of Latvian and Lithuanian perpetrators. The government of Lithuania is among the most egregious historical revisionists existing in the world today. Lithuania’s well-organized and systematic campaign to rewrite the history of Holocaust criminals seriously jeopardizes the international community’s efforts to preserve the truth of this dark period in history and thereby undermines efforts to prevent future genocide around the world.This film reveals the truth about the collaboration with the Nazi regime in the BalticStates; how neighbor turned on neighbor without hesitation, prompting a massacreof great proportions. Baltic Truth exposes how some national heroes involved inHolocaust crimes are being celebrated by their fellow countrymen to this very day.

About the Director

Having emigrated to the United States in the 1980s, Eugene Levin had no idea the extent of the horror and injustice he would uncover when over 25 years ago he began the journey with his grandfather, Mozus Berkovich, to reclaim their family’s property in Latvia, lost in1941 when almost the entire Jewish community of the small town of Akniste was massacred by Latvian perpetrator son July 18, 1941. The Latvian government has since claimed owner ship of the property, and have refuted or ignored Levin’s demand for justice and restitution at every turn. Since the passing of his grandfather, and inspired by their fight, Eugene has now produced and directed a film dedicated to revealing some of the little known truths about the Holocaust in the Baltic states. Shot throughoutLatvia and Lithuania, Levin was shocked to learn just how much the murderers ofJews are still glorified and revered for their “military service,” and that in spite of that there is still a vibrant Jewish community, eager to educate and remind the world of what really happened in those places. Baltic Truth aims to be a voice for that community, for Levin and his family, and for all the people whose lives were stolen in those dark years, so that their memory may never be erased.

Artist Statement

What does one feel when he sees a monument with gratitude to the killers of his entire family? What do people feel when they find out that partakers in theHolocaust are recognized as national heroes? It seems implausible, especially if it is happening today in the European Union. Sounds unbelievable ? But it’s a sad fact.The film Baltic Truth is an attempt to understand how the zigzags of complex history in Latvia and Lithuania elevated murderers to national heroes status? Poor memory, ignorance of history and its facts or conscious denial of unpleasant facts can lead to very sad consequences.