A new documentary that follows the story of a Holocaust survivor who tracked down and killed Nazis in Australia in the 1950s was introduced at the Jewish International Film Festival.
What would you do if you heard rumours that your father was involved in a plot to kill Nazis after the Second World War?
When Jack, heard his two brothers, Jon and Sam, referring to a story that he had never heard that suggested that their father, Boris, a WWII Partisan, Holocaust survivor and watchmaker, planned and carried out a revenge killing of a Nazi fugitive who had escaped to Australia after the war, he almost couldn’t believe his ears.
During the late 1940s, many Holocaust survivors emigrated to Australia following the end of the Second World War. On those very same boats, some 800 Nazi fugitives and Nazi sympathisers were among the passengers seeking refuge, given safe passage by the Australian authorities despite their known history of war crimes.
Naturally, the surviving Jewish communities who had escaped the atrocities of war were outraged that thousands of Nazis had been able to flee the Baltic states and given residency in Australia… and they were out for revenge.
WATCH Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer trailer below:
Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer explores the blurred lines between justice and revenge, uncovering uncomfortable truths about a family secret and the lesser-known aspects of Australia’s history during that tumultuous period.
Through gripping narratives, archival footage and interviews with surviving members of Jewish vigilante groups, this true-crime documentary not only uncovers the hidden chapters of a nation’s past, but questions our perception of morality, the impact of war and the lengths people will go to seek revenge.
Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer will be released on BBC and ABC and is now playing in cinemas across Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Brisbane and Gold Coast.