Point of view of a woman artist on hope and humanity after the darkness
Professor Yael Katzir, the director of the movie: “An artist’s point of view is not on one thing, nor on one artistic creation. It is a general view. My general point of view in this movie is on the positive example. My exposure to the displaced persons, through the making of the movie, was a very special experience for me, and I learned how much this group, and their moral message of, ‘we have no other country’ was a tailwind for the foundation of the state of Israel.”
Giving birth without a mother, the feminine personal story in and behind the movie
Shuni Lifshitz, initiator and co-producer of the movie: “When I became pregnant, I was 40 years old, and I told my mother about it. She was very happy, but did not have the time to become a grandmother, since she passed away when I was five months pregnant. Therefore, I gave birth without a mother. For me, the problem was not giving birth without her, but the fact that she did not get the chance to have a grandchild, and that my son did not have a grandmother. That absence of your parents not being able to enjoy your children is a very painful one.”
Identities in Conflict: The female emissaries to the displaced persons camps
Dr. Lilach Rosenberg-Friedman, Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University: “Women from Israel who were emissaries to the displaced persons camps were sent by the men, because they were perceived as mothers, and because motherhood was perceived as a natural emotion for women. This mission was their way of participating in the national struggle, to be national mothers. This mission gave the women a chance to understand that personal motherhood is not the essence of everything, and they, as well as the others, discovered their own abilities, so, for them, it was a seed of shaping a new identity.”
The attitude of the local population in Italy towards the survivors
Lior Inbar, a researcher and guide at the Ghetto Fighters’ House: “At the end of the World War II, Italy was a bruised country that wanted only one thing, which is to go back to being a part of the family of nations. For that purpose, an interesting campaign was launched, and was led by Italian public figures who reshaped the past, and said, ‘Fascism is not ours, it was imported to us from Germany. It did not take roots with us, but is a passing phenomenon.’ Interestingly, Italian Jews cooperated with this action, and acted to promote the campaign. Therefore, Jewish public figures spoke of a period that had passed, and how they were facing the future. One can certainly understand them, since it was the only way to go on and have a normal life, and leave the past behind.”