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A touching documentary directed by Holger Harrivirta (1915-86) about Finnish children, about 70,000 of whom were sent to Sweden during the war years. The film's train of war children arrives from the Karelian Isthmus in the summer of 1944, travels via Kuopio and Haparanda to Stockholm. In Haparanda, there is a sauna and a medical examination, as well as a check of the surrender papers. Another batch of Karelian war children travels via Helsinki and Vaasa to Umeå in the summer of 1944.
Director
Status
Released
Original Language
FI
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
