When the former teacher calls out the names of the participants of the reunion, some report that they now live in Israel, Sweden, France or the USA. As different as their lives are, the accounts of the circumstances surrounding their departures are very similar. Though they were firmly rooted in Poland and had jobs and families there, doubts nevertheless grew: should they stay, or should they emigrate?
As a silent observer hidden behind the camera, Łoziński follows how his former classmates' debates increasingly revolve around whether they identify more with Poland or with Judaism. Many still feel a stronger attachment to Polish culture. They have the impression that they were only made Jewish through external attribution. Their subjective identification is nowhere near as clear-cut however – even today, 20 years after emigrating.
The class reunion that Łoziński portrays here took place shortly after the fall of socialism. The anti-Semitic campaigns of the Gomułka government remained unprocessed. Against this background, the documentary itself evolves into a record of how discourses of identity were conducted between Jews and non-Jews at the time - for many a novel experience.
Text: Rainer Mende
English: Peter Rickerby
