us-005578-irn1003918
scope and content: Benjamin Murmelstein, a rabbi and intellectual, worked closely with Adolf Eichmann in Vienna and became the last head of the Jewish Council in Theresienstadt. He defends his behavior against the many who have criticized him since the war and provides important details about the functioning of Eichmann's Central Office for Jewish Emigration. The sound on these tapes is problematic. Claude Lanzmann's questions are sometimes inaudible (they often do not appear in the transcripts). The audio sometimes outlasts the video image. The first few tapes show Murmelstein and Lanzmann outside on a balcony, then they move indoors. The sound levels are generally inconsistent. The interview takes place in Rome, where Murmelstein settled in 1947. FILM ID 3158 -- Camera Rolls #22,23,24,26A -- 01:00:00 to 01:21:08 Murmelstein says that he is as happy in Rome as one who lives in exile can be. He talks about how hard it is to speak about the past and the Jews missing from Europe, Rome included. He says that Lanzmann has persuaded him of the importance of talking. Lanzmann says that Murmelstein has been silent for 30 years, which Murmelstein disputes, mentioning the book he wrote in 1961 called"Eichmann's Model Ghetto" He talks about the two films about Theresienstadt, one made in 1942 and one in 1944. He says that he was filmed for the second one but the scene was cut, which was a good thing. He says that he first saw the film on April 16, 1945 with Rudolf (Rezso) Kasztner. He states that the Nazis cut the scene in which he appeared because Eppstein also appeared in the scene and the Nazis had executed Eppstein. He says,"With a dead Jewish council chairman you can't make propaganda, can you" He talks about Rumkowski (chairman of the Jewish council in the Łódź ghetto), who allowed himself to be called"King Chaim" He talks in mythical and religious terms, making reference to Roman myths, Christianity, Judaism, and fairy tales. At one point Lanzmann tells him that he himself is somewhat my…
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1985-12-31
title: Benjamin Murmelstein - Theresienstadt Judenaelteste
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn1003918/alternateIDs/2
type: RecordSet
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn1003918/alternateIDs/1
has or had holder: us-005578
biographical history: Claude Lanzmann was born in Paris to a Jewish family that immigrated to France from Eastern Europe. He attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. His family went into hiding during World War II. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in the Auvergne. Lanzmann opposed the French war in Algeria and signed a 1960 antiwar petition. From 1952 to 1959 he lived with Simone de Beauvoir. In 1963 he married French actress Judith Magre. Later, he married Angelika Schrobsdorff, a German-Jewish writer, and then Dominique Petithory in 1995. He is the father of Angélique Lanzmann, born in 1950, and Félix Lanzmann (1993-2017). Lanzmann's most renowned work, Shoah, is widely regarded as the seminal film on the subject of the Holocaust. He began interviewing survivors, historians, witnesses, and perpetrators in 1973 and finished editing the film in 1985. In 2009, Lanzmann published his memoirs under the title"Le lièvre de Patagoni" (The Patagonian Hare). He was chief editor of the journal"Les Temps Modernes" which was founded by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, until his death on July 5, 2018. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/claude-lanzmann-changed-the-history-of-filmmaking-with-shoah Dr. Benjamin Murmelstein (June 9, 1905-1989) had worked as community rabbi and teacher in Vienna, Austria since 1931. After the reopening of the Jewish Community in May 1938, he became manager of the emigration department and deputy of Director Dr. Josef Löwenherz, who had been appointed by the Nazi authorities. He played a key role in emigration and deportation organization. In early 1943, he was himself deported to Theresienstadt. He was the only surviving"Judenältest" [Jewish Elder] of all Nazi ghettos. Angelika Schrobsdorff was a German writer and actress. She grew up in Berlin and in 1938 fled, with her mother and sister, to Sofia, Bulgaria, where she remained until the end of the war. Her grandmother was murdered in Theresienstadt. In 1947, Schr…
note: This interview was most likely filmed in Winter 1975-1976 (based on Murmelstein's mention of his age at one point in the interview).
has record set type: Item
note: Claude Lanzmann spent twelve years locating survivors, perpetrators, and eyewitnesses for his nine and a half hour film Shoah released in 1985. Without archival footage, Shoah weaves together extraordinary testimonies to render the step-by-step machinery of the destruction of European Jewry. Critics have called it"a masterpiec" and a"monument against forgetting" The Claude Lanzmann SHOAH Collection consists of roughly 185 hours of interview outtakes and 35 hours of location filming.
date: February 1976
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1985-01-01
has or had some members with language: deu
note: Film IDs 3158-3175 were cataloged by viewing and summarizing each indiviudal tape. The remainder of the interview was cataloged from the German-language transcripts of the interview.
note: Claude Lanzmann and his crew of 4 went directly from Israel to Rome to film Benjamin Murmelstein - their second interview. The crew wanted to eat before unloading, so they checked the equipment every two minutes until dessert when they stopped checking. 10 million Francs worth of sound equipment was stolen, and the crew had to quickly get substitutes from Paris. What they got was not as sophisticated. At Murmelstein's request, part of the interview was filmed with the Arch of Titus in the background. Staff-curated clips include: Clip 1, Film ID 3158, 01:11:26-01:21:00 Clip 2, Film ID 3159, 01:11:46-01:22:06 Clip 3, Film ID 3168, 11:00:32-11:14:21 Clip 4, Film ID 3174, 17:00:05-17:11:09 Clip 5, Film ID 3186, 05:42:32-05:52:28 Film IDs 3159, 3160, 3165, and 3167 were resynched by Colorlab in January 2008.
note: *** The following reels contain audio only *** FILM ID 3709 -- Audio Reels 21Q, 21R FILM ID 3710 -- Audio Reels 22-26R FILM ID 3711 -- Audio Reels 27-29R FILM ID 3712 -- Audio Reels 30R, 30Q FILM ID 3713 -- Audio Reels 31,32R FILM ID 3714 -- Audio Reels 33,34R FILM ID 3715 -- Audio Reels 35,36R FILM ID 3716 -- Audio Reels 37R 37Q FILM ID 3717 -- Audio Reels 38,39Q FILM ID 3718 -- Audio Reels 38,39R FILM ID 3719 -- Audio Reels 40,41R FILM ID 3720 -- Audio Reels 42,43R FILM ID 3721 -- Audio Reels 44,45R FILM ID 3722 -- Audio Reels 45+ sons seuls R FILM ID 3723 -- Audio Reels 48,49R FILM ID 3724 -- Audio Reels 50-52R FILM ID 3725 -- Audio Reels 53,54R FILM ID 3726 -- Audio Reels 55,56R FILM ID 3727 -- Audio Reels 57,58R FILM ID 3728 -- Audio Reels 59,60R FILM ID 3729 -- Audio Reels 61,62R FILM ID 3730 -- Audio Reels 63,65R FILM ID 3731 -- Audio Reels 66,67R FILM ID 3732 -- Audio Reels 68,69R FILM ID 3733 -- Audio Reels 68,69Q FILM ID 3734 -- Audio Reel 69 -- Created from 16mm mag rushes FILM ID 3735 -- Audio Reels 71,72R FILM ID 3736 -- Audio Reels 73,74R FILM ID 3737 -- Audio Reels 75,76R FILM ID 3738 -- Audio Reels 77-79R FILM ID 3739 -- Audio Reels 80-82R FILM ID 3740 -- Audio Reels 83-87R FILM ID 3741 -- Audio Reels 88-92R FILM ID 3742 -- Audio Reels 93-96R
identifier: irn1003918