42 | APRIL 2 • 2020 

Arts&Life

review

B

ritish philanthropist 
Leonard Montefiore, a 
founder of World Jewish 
Relief, took a special interest in 
youngsters who survived concen-
tration camp experiences of star-
vation, deprivation, forced labor 
and separation from loved ones.
With liberation, he joined 
caring volunteers to help hun-
dreds of these youths regain their 
abilities, trust in others and the 
future.
The transition unfolded at a 
tranquil estate along Lake Win-
dermere in England. In the sum-
mer of 1945, formerly impris-
oned young people had food, 
their own rooms, classes, time to 
play and help from the Red Cross 
in learning about their families. 
This initiative is brought 
to life in very personal stories 
through the BBC docudrama The 
Windermere Children being aired 
April 5 on PBS. The 90-minute 
film, based on the testimony of 
orphaned survivors, was written 
by Simon Block and directed by 
Emmy-winner Michael Samuels.
The torment of the past and 
activities to escape devastat-
ing memories were made real 
through engrossing scenes of the 
youths responding to their new 
environment, first in desperation. 
Near a woman walking a domes-
ticated dog, they express fears the 
animal was trained to be vicious.
The cast includes Thomas 
Kretschmann (The Pianist), 
Romola Garai (The Miniaturist), 
Tim McInnerny (Strangers) and 

Iain Glen (Game of Thrones).
Psychologist Oscar Friedmann 
(Kretschmann) is charged with 
looking after the children. He 
and his team — art therapist 
Marie Paneth (Garai), Montefiore 
(McInnerny) and sports coach 
Jock Lawrence (Glen) — work 
over four months to help chil-
dren heal and reclaim their lives. 
A key element is the changing 
interaction with the British peo-
ple living nearby, some harboring 
skepticism about refugees. 
The film shows the youngsters 
advancing by learning English, 
riding bikes and expressing their 
trauma through painting. Adding 
to the realism are scenes of con-
tinuing anti-Semitism and efforts 
to overcome those challenges. 
Haunted by nightmares and 
wishing they could find family 
members, the children look to 
one another for meaningful 
relationships, which help them 
understand a world new to them.
The impact of the experience is 
told in an epilogue that introduc-
es successful seniors represented 
in their troubled adolescent 
years. They tell of their efforts to 
take charge of their own lives and 
rebuild after Windermere.
Hearing the actual survivors 
brings an uplifting promise for 
the possibilities of tomorrow. 

The Windermere Children will air at 
10 p.m. Sunday, April 5, on PBS and 
stream on the PBS video app. “The 
Windermere Children: In Their Own 
Words” will be streaming on PBS 
Passport.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PBS 

Scene from 
Windermere 
Children

Escaping Memories

Docudrama traces young
survivors’
 return to life.







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