Finding Family (2003)

• 84%
• 2003
• Documentary
• Jeff Hirsh

Henry Blumenstein was a child in 1939 when, after fleeing Nazi- occupied Austria, his family gained passage with other Jewish refugees on the St. Louis. When the ship was abruptly refused entry by Cuba and sent back to Europe, the family found its way to Amsterdam. Henry's mother placed him in hiding with the Dijkstras, a poor Catholic Dutch family, shortly before she was captured and sent to Auschwitz. This documentary follows Henry back to Holland as he visits the Amsterdam house and the rural farm where he lived, as well as his school and the Catholic church where he was an altar boy. During this visit, Henry meets the descendants of the Dijkstras and is able to give thanks for the kindness and courage he experienced from their family during the war.