The House on Wannsee Street

Description: A few blocks down from the famous villa in Potsdam, site of the Wannsee conference where the fate of European Jewry was discussed, stands another attractive villa. This was the family home of the Otto Lippmann, a renowned German Jewish psychologist and Poli Martinez’s great grandfather. He maintained a psychological research institute on the grounds of the family home and for years struggled to have it recognised by the state. He succeeded in 1932 when the institute was incorporated into Humboldt University. When the Nazis ascended to power the next year, he was expelled from the institution. Following a brutal visit to the family home by Nazi officials, Lippmann suffered a fatal heart attack.

In 1937 his wife and her daughter’s family fled to Alexandria, Egypt. When King Farouk’s regime teetered and the situation for foreigners became dangerous, they moved to Switzerland. Martinez’s grandfather was weary of staying in Europe, however, and sought to move the family to Argentina. Given Juan Perón’s antisemitic policy, he felt it prudent to get the family baptised at a local Anglican church in order to facilitate their immigration application. Eighty years after the family left it, Martinez returned to the villa. Using interviews with relatives, home movies, stills and documents she tells the fascinating story of her family’s displacement.

Merits: The family’s differing attitudes to religion are keenly observed. While Martinez and her husband are non-practicing, her son decided to undergo a Bar Mitzvah. One of her aunts, married to a former Venezuelan diplomat, lives in Madrid and is a devout Catholic. In the documentary, both she and her husband appeared to be in denial of her family’s persecution. After German reunification the sisters’ initial bid to repossess their family home was rejected in favour of the descendants of the Nazi who acquired it. Despite the reticence of her siblings, Martinez’s mother persisted in the fight and ultimately regained possession. Martinez is a particularly deft storyteller and her story is captivating.

Rating: Suitable for all audiences.

Bukra Fil Mishmish

On Broadway