US-Dokumentarfilmerin Ann Morrison dreht in Europa
Von 22. September bis 15. Oktober 2010 tourte die US-Filmemacherin Ann Morrison, deren Dokumentation “The Forgotten Genocide” (siehe Beitrag im “Archiv Veranstaltungen”: USA: Völkermord-Konferenz mit Premiere des Dokumentarfilms “The Forgotten Genocide” (25. - 27. 2. 2010)) bereits von drei amerikanischen Fernsehanstalten gezeigt wurde, durch Europa, um zahlreiche Gespräche zu führen. Dabei traf sich die Amerikanerin mit französich-polnischen Wurzeln unter anderem mit den Direktoren des Hauses der Donauschwaben in Sindelfingen, Dr. Otto Welker, des Donauschwäbischen Zentralmuseums in Ulm, Dr. Christian Glass, oder des Hauses des Deutschen Ostens, Dr. Ortfried Kotzian. Vor allem aber befragte sie zahlreiche Zeitzeugen über Flucht und Lageraufenthalte. Das Schicksal der Deutschen im Tito-Jugoslawien stand dabei im Vordergrund, es wurden allerdings auch andere Vertreibungsopfer wie beispielsweise die Karpatendeutschen, Sudetendeutschen und Oberschlesier eingebunden. Das Ergebnis der dreieinhalbwöchigen Reise durch Deutschland, Österreich, Ungarn, Serbien und der Schweiz soll in einem Sechsteiler dokumentiert werden, dessen erste Folgen im Jahre 2011 fertig gestellt werden.
Nach der erfolgreichen “The Forgotten Genocide”-Tagung im Februar 2010 (siehe Beitrag im “Archiv Veranstaltungen”: USA: Völkermord-Konferenz mit Premiere des Dokumentarfilms “The Forgotten Genocide” (25. - 27. 2. 2010)) an der amerikanischen Universität St. Louis (Bundesstaat Missouri), in deren Rahmen die Filmpremiere lief, wird am 28./29. April 2011 erneut eine Konferenz stattfinden, die nun den Titel “The second annual Forgotten Genocide Conference” trägt. In der Nachbetrachtung ihrer Reise erklärte Ann Morrison folgendes:
“The Forgotten Genocide not only uncovered a long lost story but it changed my life forever. In March of 2009 I did a project for my Honors English Composition class that turned into a full length documentary that was screened in February of 2010. That was the beginning of what is now a film series telling the epic story of the ethnic German Genocide that took place after WWII in eastern Europe from 1944-1948. 15 Million people were chance out, tortured, executed, work to death, starved to death and then forgotten because they were German. Germans that never lived in Germany and had lived in their homes for over three hundred years in the many countries that make up eastern Europe.
The translator, Anita Pare and camera man, Ralph Hoffarth and I covered 5 countries, 34 towns. took 72 interviews from survivors and covered 5640 Kilometers in three weeks gathering as much information as possible to put together a series of six documentaries on the genocide. The information is out there, but you have to really look for it. The museums we visited set up by the various groups, Carpathians, Sudeten, Donauschwaben among others exist, but not well known. These museums have many stories about the groups and the regions they come from , but the history about Europe as a nation is overwhelming. The ethnic German genocide is a very important part of history that brought us to where we are today. People running and being kicked out of the homes sent them to many other places in the world that had and still has an impact today. There is no one who can say that history hasn’t has an effect on them, it is who we are.
The second annual Forgotten Genocide Conference will be focusing on these issues with speakers giving lectures on Genocide, nationality, humanities. There will be an art display of paintings depicting life in the camps. There will be opportunities to purchase the many books and DVDs on the subjects listed. The two day event will end with a dinner dance with a Polka band and light hearted fun.
This will all take place in St. Louis, Missouri at the Viking Holiday Inn on April 28 and 29 of 2011. St. Louis community College-Meramec will be sponsoring the conference as they did last year. We have moved the venue to the Viking because we needed more room for attendees. This will be an exciting event for all to take part in.
The time has come to bring this out and teach the generations to come about what happened, how it happened and why it must never happen again.”
Das Filmteam aus Amerika (von links): Übersetzerin Anita Pare, Kameramann Ralph Hoffarth und Filmemacherin Ann Morrison (Foto: Josef Lang)