Europa, Europa Film Class Paper

Europa, Europa Film Class Paper                September 15, 2017

Europa, Europa was a movie that allowed us to catch a glimpse of what it was like to be human and be stripped of that at the same time during the days of the Holocaust. To be born as they are was a default reason to die especially in the case of Jews under the hands of the Germans. There was disdain all around because of the environment people were growing up in, constantly having to flee for the sake of their very own lives and what politics was making them believe in as well. 

I’d like to think the drowning scene at the beginning reflects much of Solek’s internal conflicts the entire time he tried to stay alive while the war went on. His survival relied on his masquerading as someone who was part of the very reason he feared for his safety. Not only that but he was at the forefront of many of a couple notable victories, including the capture of Stalin’s son and the accidental exposure of a Soviet position in which he was supposed to join. He planned to finally escape the trap that he put himself into to survive, only to be pulled back again and hailed as a hero amongst their kind. This also brings me to the value of the circumcision scene as this sets Solek’s identity. This is one thing he especially needed to hide because it would be the ultimate cause of his destruction— the movie mentions this a lot and eventually includes a frame wherein they expose his frontal nudity. It probably wanted to illustrate Solek’s innocence and the focus on his coming of age, constantly having to protect his parts while at the same time dealing with very intimate situations such as those with Leni and the woman who took him to his new school. These parts defined plenty of his actions because they often kept him at a war between his survival and wants. One can see that at the end he pees out in the open, meaning he fully embraces who he is already after having to parade around as a German for a good while. He had almost died trying to prove his origins just shortly before his brother recognized him, and the fact that he was able to willingly expose himself and pee in what would have been a vulnerable area solidifies the end of his glaring need to adopt an alternate identity.