Quest for the motives of fifty Jewish survivors of WW II to found the social club Van feest komt feest. Was it an attempt to cope with the Shoah?
Around 1950, a group of fifty Jewish holocaust survivors founded the social club Van feest komt feest. They annually organised parties and daytrips, to Avifauna or the Noord-Brabant meres. The society existed until the 1960s, when people found their own diversions, owing to the TV and increased prosperity.
Michel Viskoper, a society member himself and a pupil of Bert Haanstra’s, shot 8mm footage of the parties and excursions. On the black-and-white films, people - serious and introverted at home - are sometimes delirious with joy. Viskoper’s nephew Lex and niece Diny look for the underlying story. Almost all members have passed away by now, but the octogenarians Leendert and Roos Stouwer can still recount why they joined. ‘Laugh and forget’ was the motto.
Did they still have reasons to laugh after the losses? Were the celebrations an attempt to repress, forget or cope with the Shoah? Did the members want to make up arrears, were they looking for solidarity, a fresh start?
Michel Viskoper, a society member himself and a pupil of Bert Haanstra’s, shot 8mm footage of the parties and excursions. On the black-and-white films, people - serious and introverted at home - are sometimes delirious with joy. Viskoper’s nephew Lex and niece Diny look for the underlying story. Almost all members have passed away by now, but the octogenarians Leendert and Roos Stouwer can still recount why they joined. ‘Laugh and forget’ was the motto.
Did they still have reasons to laugh after the losses? Were the celebrations an attempt to repress, forget or cope with the Shoah? Did the members want to make up arrears, were they looking for solidarity, a fresh start?
Credits
Director
Producer
Executive producer
Camera
Sound editing
Montage
Muziek
Production company
Blitz Producties
TV company
Joodse Omroep
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