Salomea Genin was born in Berlin in 1932 to Polish-Russian Jewish parents. In 1939, her family fled and settled in Melbourne, Australia. As a teenager, she found a sense of belonging in the Australian Communist youth movement, and in 1951 travelled to East Berlin as part of the Australian delegation to the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students. The visit left such a strong impression on her that she became determined to live in the GDR. In 1954, she returned to Berlin to help build a better, antifascist Germany, the GDR was not yet ready to welcome her, however. It was not until 1963 that she was finally able to live and work in the so-called workers’ and peasants’ state—and even then, the road remained challenging.
Salomea Genin returned from exile in Australia to East Berlin in the 1950s to help build the GDR. There, however, the committed communist was met with scepticism because she was Jewish. A story of lived experience between political passion and ideology, as well as trauma and taboos, suspicion and exclusion.
Credits
original title Salomea
international title Salomea
german title Salomea
JFBB section KINO FERMISHED
country/countries DE
year 2025
duration 60