For his documentary Leben und Überleben (To Live and Survive), director Matthias Jaklitsch followed 97-year-old Viennese Holocaust survivor Erich Finsches for six years to chronicle his life and the mission he has taken on of speaking about his experiences. Erich is a lively elder who moves with purpose and loves to interact with people.
His first encounter with the Nazi regime came as a child when he was caught brawling with two members of the Hitler Youth and taken in by the Gestapo. When he got free, he knew he’d be followed, so he avoided going home and was on the run for some time. A young woman he stayed with for two years never told him her name, and he was unable to find her later. He says that happened with many people he believes were murdered. Erich’s father, Julius, was able to buy his own freedom and escaped to France, where he enlisted in the Austrian Battalion of the U.S. Army. His mother tried to flee, was caught at the border, and gassed in a camp in 1942.
Erich tells these stories as if they happened yesterday, everything bright and fresh in his mind. He recalls vivid details as he pores over lists of the dead from the camps. He says he saw men falling into deep, wet concrete while building a bunker, sinking down to die and become entombed.
“… 97 year old Viennese Holocaust survivor sharing stories of his experiences …”
His mission now is to speak at events where he shares his experiences fighting against the Nazis, being wounded, and then being sent to Auschwitz. He reels out one after another harrowing tale of beatings, abuse, narrow escapes, and capture. He tells of hiding out in one of the crematorium ovens.
At one extraordinary commemoration event, Erich is brought to meet a former U.S. soldier who helped liberate the camps. He says he was near death from starvation, and weighed so little that one soldier was able to pick him up and another prisoner at the same time to place them in an ambulance.
Erich’s psychiatrist, Elizabeth Brainin, says his resilience comes from an intense love of life. She attributes his survival to this fire inside, saying those who became numb to the situation, who gave up and stopped engaging with life, were most likely to be chosen for execution. Erich continues even now to sparkle and shine, whether he’s talking about his ordeal or something he saw recently that delighted him.
"…an affecting snapshot of the Holocaust ordeal of Eric Finsches"
