Entering Germany

Director Rolf Orthel was called by Ad van Dien, who has `images inside his head' that should be put on film. In World War II, the Jewish Van Dien went into hiding, first in a hollow stobbe (stacked peat bricks) and then for two and a half years in a covered pit in the woods in Drenthe. Orthel interviews Van Dien, films him in the woods and reconstructs the digging of his hiding place - which is also seen on old pictures. Van Dien sees a line from his underground past to his post-war work in house-building. In this capacity, he was invited to come and speak in Germany, which he only consented to after quite some hesitation. Now, he shows Orthel places and people in Germany that are important to him: the new Jewish Museum in Berlin, a German museum about going into hiding, the new open dome of the Reichstag. Orthel also speaks with a young filmmaker and someone who places commemorative stones at houses of deportees. Thus, this documentary not only looks back on the war, but also extends the line to modern-day Germany.