One has no trouble coming to logical and just conclusions about the perpetrators of evil in any war, but rarely do we think about their children, who are left to live with an awful legacy. That is the foundation for this moving and complex film. Titled “Inheritance”, it aptly describes the proverbial baggage that is handed off, in this case, to the daughter of one of World War II’s most monstrous participants – Amon Goeth. As commandant of the Płaszów concentration camp in Kraków, Poland, he was feared as someone who tortured and killed Jews regularly.
After viewing Steven Spielberg’s now famous movie, “Schindler’s List”, Goeth’s daughter Monika is confronted with the image and legacy of her father and must somehow come to terms with reality. Through no fault of her own, she endeavors to make sense of the past by reaching out to one of the survivors of the camp. It is an extraordinary action which is met with equal compassion by Helen Jonas-Rosezweig – Goeth’s Jewish slave servant during his time at the camp.
I was quite moved by the bravery on both their parts and though not an easy movie to watch, it is a very necessary documentary which serves to remind us not only of the mistakes of the past but of the redemptive possibilities for the future. I highly recommend it!
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