Where Hands Touch [DVD]

A very moving story about cruelty, courage, and with a surprising end. The ending has a twist that was somewhat surprising to me. I think all should watch this move – it is a story most of us have never heard. To those who say it didn’t happen – yes, it did. That there were so few black Germans who perished in the concentration camps is simply due to the fact that there were so few of them in Germany. Population estimates I have seen are in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 and since their records of birth, marriage, death have been so sparse and many were purposefully destroyed, we will never know the numbers of those who were killed by the Nazis. In the very first two minutes of the movie the girl Leyna says she grew up in Rudesheim, but had never seen another person like herself. Very few of the black Germans were actually the “Rhineland bastards” – the product of German women having affairs or marriages to African soldiers from the French Colonial Army which occupied Western Germany after WWI. Most were Africans who came in from Germany’s relatively short colonial period, or products of marriages and affairs of these men with German women. In any case, I do not see how telling their story in any way detracts from the horrors that the Jews suffered, or disrespects their suffering. It just adds more to the story of racial purity that Hitler’s fanatical Reich sought to achieve, and nothing was too heinous, inhumane, or immoral to be done towards that end. And, contrary to what one reviewer said – “Blacks were protected by German law” – it takes only about two minutes to find and read the 1935 Nuremberg Laws which stripped Jews of their citizenship and made it illegal for them to marry or even have sexual relations with people “of German blood.” Blacks and gypsies were also shortly thereafter swept into this class of “alien blood” people that were deprived of their citizenship, if they had it, and of relationships with people of German blood. And there was a forced sterilization program for the blacks, although it was never officially announced. As the movie shows, it first focused on the Rhineland bastards, and it is believed that more than half of them were forcibly sterilized. That there were simply so many Jews and so few blacks, there was never a program focused on their Final Solution. However, whenever and wherever they were discovered, they were imprisoned and often murdered. And when Himmler ordered a census taken of black Germans in 1943, it indicates that he was thinking about such a Final Solution for them after he got his really big population of “alien blood” under control. The director/screenwriter of this movie spent nearly 12 years researching it, writing it, and making the movie – it took so long because there are so few records, survivors, and witnesses. I think the acting by the main characters was superb. The mother, the girl Leyna, and her lover Lutz really pulled me into their dilemma, their confusion, their fear, their anger, their suffering, and the horrible options they were faced with. Fundamentally, their difficulties came from one single reason – falling in love with someone with a different skin color, and believing in that love, and wanting to pursue it. The mistakes they may have made in their decisions as individuals was hardly relevant. The crushing oppression of Nazi racism was. Pay close attention to what the mother says to Leyna at 37:30 minutes in. I didn’t until I watched it a second time. Obviously, she understood the Nazi mentality very well, and thus, the twist at the end should not have been so surprising to me. I highly recommend watching this movie – when a government turns to abject and despicable cruelty – its citizens, even those that are not in the targeted class of such cruelty, have few options, and no good ones.

This film exceeded my already high expectations, from impeccable casting to authentic acting. A film like this could have been so easy to ruin with excessive sentimentality or righteousness. There were so many opportunities to throw in some 21st century righteousness and monologues about human dignity. Thankfully, the screenwriter did not tumble into that ravine. Humanist ideology is strategically rationed.I will not commit the common crime and compare the main characters to Romeo & Juliet - that would be a lazy shortcut - but this is a story of two ideologically confused and conflicted lovers. Leyna and Lutz discover the difference between patriotism and allegiance to an absurd regime. I was a little surprised that Leyna was not more bitter towards her ... hm... "fatherland" after all the rejection and mockery she had faced there, after all the filthy things she had heard. She continues clinging to the idea of being German and loving Germany. She has a sort of Stockholm syndrome towards her country and her background.Any time you have an international cast, the director has to decide which language they speak in and if they should have an accent. You have American and British actors faking German accent to various degrees of authenticity, but that does not detract from the movie.The character who plays Lutz also has some moderate acne. I don't know if it was a deliberate move to not have it treated prior to shooting. Those teenage outbreaks give him an air of vulnerability. It's terrifying to see that scrawny, pale, pimply kid in an SS uniform. Makes you think of how many other German boys were cajoled into this hellish situation under similar circumstances.

This is such a wonderful film. The characters, the story, the struggle they endured was so real and so powerful. I watched this two days ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. I am probably going to watch it another two times this weekend..lol.Some people have mentioned not liking the fact that the hero was a Nazi, but I love that because it shows a side of Germany during that time that we forget. First, he had to be in the Nazi Youth Group because it was mandatory during that time. Second, that not all Germans were evil. I think we want to paint them as such but films like this show us a different side of humanity. They show the silent majority. Those in society who do not agree with the political climate and yet stand by while their neighbors are taken out into the streets and killed. And it is not until the violence strikes home that people begin to have their eyes opened to how wrong things are. We like to think that we would never be apart of the silent majority, but I don't know. When people come banging on your door with a gun to your husband, wife, son, or daughters head, maybe you would crumble in fear.But anyway, this film was just wonderful and a must watch. My only wish is that it could have been longer or there was a sequel.

The movie was not in color

Hard to find this for a gift but Amazon had it! Exactly what my Daughter wanted!

It would be helpful if the post states that the viewing of this DVD is restricted alongside the actual product. It would save a lot of headaches.

It was a Shocking Revelation how wicked the Nazis treated mixed race People as well as Jewish People, It was well worth a watch.

Intérêt historique car tourné à Bruxelles et à Jodoigne

This is not based on a real story but could easily have been. A true love story fighting against the bigoted views of times gone by and unfortunately still goes on today. You cannot help who you fall in love with but many people think they know better with disastrous consequences. Excellent casting and acting with sad ending.

This is a harrowing story and a tough watch. Important message, good cast and well acted. I know that not all stories can have a happy ending , but it's not for the faint hearted.