“In Spite of Darkness” is an award-winning documentary about an interfaith retreat at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland, where more than 1 million people, nearly all of them European Jews, were exterminated by the Nazis. It was produced by Loyola Productions Munich and directed by Christof Wolf, SJ. You can watch it at this link on the film’s site. This is the trailer. (Click here to watch it on YouTube.)
In Spite of Darkness
By Jim Manney
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Jim Manneyhttps://www.jimmanneybooks.com/
Jim Manney is the author of highly praised popular books on Ignatian spirituality, including A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer (about the Daily Examen) and God Finds Us (about the Spiritual Exercises). He is the compiler/editor of An Ignatian Book of Days. His latest book is What Matters Most and Why. He and his wife live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The treatment of the Palestinians is very dark too and it’s now, not then.
Thank you for including the link for the documentary. It was incredibly painful to watch but it is necessary for us to hear the stories of those who were family of the victims and those who were family of the perpetrators. Approximately 25 years ago I visited the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem for the first time; it was a life-changing experience. All of humanity suffers when one person suffers.
“In Spite of Darkness” is gentle in the telling, and the people brave in the face of absolute horror. Even so, it has taken me three sittings over three days to watch its 73 minutes. The film is viscerally sad and redemptive at the same time. It leaves me feeling something of the unfathomable pain, yet not despairing. Christof Wolf, et al., have made a wonderful, moving film illuminating the power of the spirit. Thank you.