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Siegmunt Forst

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1996.166 | RG Number: RG-60.5004 | Film ID: 3119, 3120, 3121, 3122, 3123, 3124, 3823

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    Siegmunt Forst

    Overview

    Description
    Siegmunt Forst escaped Vienna and moved to New York after the war broke out. He talks about his dealings with Rabbi Michael Weissmandel, a Slovakian Jew who tried desperately to tell the world what was happening to the European Jews. Weissmandel begged American Jewish leaders and others for money with which to bribe the Nazis. Lanzmann is interested in the individual and collective choices about whether to resist and/or to rescue, and in this interview and others he clearly views Weissmandel as an important figure.

    FILM ID 3119 -- Camera Rolls #12,14,15,17 -- 01:00:02 to 01:38:00
    Lanzmann asks Forst about when he first met Rabbi Michael Weissmandel. Forst explains that he did some calligraphy for a book that Weissmandel was publishing. He describes Weissmandel at length. Rabbi Weissmandel saw as early as 1938 that Hitler would take over Europe. He met with the Archbishop of Canterbury several times and tried to convince him to use his contacts with the Canadian government to allow Jews to emigrate there. Forst, a Viennese Jew, moved to New York shortly before the war broke out. As events in Europe progressed, letters and appeals for money from Weissmandel were read aloud in Forst's synagogue. [CLIP 1 BEGINS] Forst met Weissmandel again after the war when the rabbi came to Williamsburg. He was a completely broken man. Forst visited Weissmandel, who told him story after story about his experiences, which Forst found overwhelming. As an example, Forst tells the story of when Weissmandel jumped out of a train bound for Auschwitz, leaving his wife and children behind because they refused to come with him. Forst mentions that six months before his deportation Weissmandel publicized plans of Auschwitz that he obtained from two escapees. Forst further describes Weissmandel's manner when he met him after the war. Weissmandel saw Forst as a representative of those people who knew what was happening to the Jews, but simply went about their own business and did nothing. Forst says that Weissmandel halted the transports for many months with promises of money to the Nazis. He says that Weissmandel was the old-fashioned type of Jew who existed by bribing non-Jews and who knew that physical resistance was not possible [CLIP 1 ENDS].

    FILM ID 3120 -- Camera Rolls #18,19,21,22 -- 02:00:02 to 02:30:58
    Lanzmann asks Forst to return to the fact that Weissmandel saved himself and left his family behind. Forst says that this is the essence of Weissmandel's heroism. His natural drive would have been to go to his death with his family and he did the opposite. Lanzmann and Forst discuss this idea of heroism and its relationship to Judaism. Forst talks about Weissmandel's actions during the war. He mentions his dealings with Wisliceny and efforts which resulted in the delay of transports. Weissmandel thought that bribing the Nazis was the only way to save the Jews. At Lanzmann's urging, Forst revisits the subject of Weissmandel's mental condition after the war. He talks about how Weissmandel would go to the Bowery neighborhood where there were derelicts and people who lived on the street. Forst says, "Everybody who was outside this order attracted him, because he himself was outside this order." He describes a meeting between Weissmandel and Stephen Wise.

    FILM ID 3121 -- Camera Rolls #23,24,26 -- 03:00:03 to 03:32:04
    Forst talks about the meeting between Weissmandel and Steven Wise, president of the World Jewish Congress. Forst says that Weissmandel did not trust assimilationist or "non-authentic" Jews like Wise and Solly Meyer, the representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Switzerland. Lanzmann and Forst talk about the assimilationist American approach to helping the Jews, which differed greatly from Weissmandel's efforts to bribe the Nazis and save Jews at any cost. [CLIP 2 BEGINS] Lanzmann asks Forst to explain the Europaplan, Weissmandel's plan to save the European Jews with bribes. Weissmandel presented his plan to Dieter Wisliceny who did not think the plan was feasible. Forst mentions the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and the Nazis' obsession with "international Jewry." Weissmandel tried to use the Nazis' fantasies of world Jewish conspiracy against them. Forst turns to Weissmandel's relations with the Catholic Church [CLIP 2 ENDS]. Weissmandel, hoping for help from the Vatican, went to the bishop of Nitra (Weissmandel's hometown), who told him that there is no such thing as innocent Jewish blood because the Jews killed Christ. He also went to the Papal Nuncio but did not receive help from him either.

    FILM ID 3122 -- Camera Rolls #27-30 -- 04:00:04 to 04:32:22
    Forst talks about the Yeshiva of Nitra, which operated underground during the war. Rabbi Weissmandel built another Yeshiva in Mount Kisko, New York after the war and the first students were sixty young survivors. Forst gives a number of examples of how Weissmandel devoted himself to helping people after the war. Forst and Lanzmann talk about the historical reasons for Christianity's enmity toward the Jews. Lanzmann asks about Weissmandel's opinion of Zionism and whether this opinion was changed by the Holocaust.

    FILM ID 3123 -- Camera Rolls #31,34-38 -- 05:00:06 to 05:29:10
    Forst talks about how both Germans and Jews have tried to forget the past. In German, this process of coming to terms with the past is called Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung. Forst says that because Weissmandel was a living reminder of this past, he was unpopular. Forst speculates about why the Jews did not physically resist when facing the gas chamber. He talks about the differences between how religious and non-religious Jews viewed the Holocaust and states, "The religious Jew doesn't question God, he questions man." Forst tells the story of Weissmandel's visits to the Bishop of Nitra and the Papal Nuncio in more detail.

    FILM ID 3124 -- Camera Rolls #13,16,33 -- 06:00:02 to 06:04:59
    Various clips including: Close-ups of Forst, a sketch of Forst (?) hanging on the wall, and photographs of Weissmandel and Forst (?)

    FILM ID 3823 – Camera Rolls NY 32,33 -- photos Weissmandel [32M,25M]
    Silent shots of photos of Weissmandel in the home of Forst. Two caricature drawings, CUs. 02:31 Bob. 215 (NY 25). Forst smoking, silent shots.
    Duration
    02:48:00
    Date
    Event:  November 1978
    Production:  1985
    Locale
    New York, NY, United States
    Credit
    Created by Claude Lanzmann during the filming of "Shoah," used by permission of USHMM and Yad Vashem
    Contributor
    Director: Claude Lanzmann
    Cinematographer: William Lubtchansky
    Sound Engineer: Bernard Aubouy
    Cinematographer: Dominique Chapuis
    Assistant: Irena Steinfeldt
    Biography
    Claude Lanzmann was born in Paris to a Jewish family that immigrated to France from Eastern Europe. He attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. His family went into hiding during World War II. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in the Auvergne. Lanzmann opposed the French war in Algeria and signed a 1960 antiwar petition. From 1952 to 1959 he lived with Simone de Beauvoir. In 1963 he married French actress Judith Magre. Later, he married Angelika Schrobsdorff, a German-Jewish writer, and then Dominique Petithory in 1995. He is the father of Angélique Lanzmann, born in 1950, and Félix Lanzmann (1993-2017). Lanzmann's most renowned work, Shoah, is widely regarded as the seminal film on the subject of the Holocaust. He began interviewing survivors, historians, witnesses, and perpetrators in 1973 and finished editing the film in 1985. In 2009, Lanzmann published his memoirs under the title "Le lièvre de Patagonie" (The Patagonian Hare). He was chief editor of the journal "Les Temps Modernes," which was founded by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, until his death on July 5, 2018. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/claude-lanzmann-changed-the-history-of-filmmaking-with-shoah
    Some women central to the production of "Shoah" (1985) include Hebrew interpreter, Francine Kaufmann; Polish interpreter, Barbra Janicka; Yiddish interpreter, Mrs. Apflebaum; assistant directors, Corinna Coulmas and Irena Steinfeldt; editors, Ziva Postec and Anna Ruiz; and assistant editor, Yael Perlov.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Genre/Form
    Outtakes.
    B&W / Color
    Color
    Image Quality
    Good
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 3119 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3119 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3119 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3119 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3119 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3119 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3119 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3119 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3120 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3120 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3120 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3120 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3120 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3120 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3120 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3120 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3121 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3121 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3121 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3121 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3121 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3121 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3121 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3121 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3122 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3122 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3823 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative - B-wind
      Master 3823 Film: positive - 16 mm - b&w - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3122 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3823 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative - B-wind
      Master 3823 Film: positive - 16 mm - b&w - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3122 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3823 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative - B-wind
      Master 3823 Film: positive - 16 mm - b&w - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3122 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3823 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative - B-wind
      Master 3823 Film: positive - 16 mm - b&w - workprint
      Master 3123 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3123 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3123 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3123 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3123 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3123 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3123 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - magnetic - sound - workprint
      Master 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3123 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - large
      Master 3124 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3124 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - small
      Master 3124 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3124 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - small
      Master 3124 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3124 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - small
      Master 3124 Film: negative - 16 mm - color - silent - original negative
      Master 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - color - workprint
      Master 3124 Video: Digital Betacam - color - NTSC - small
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3119 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3119 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3119 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3119 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3119 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3119 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3120 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3120 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3120 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3120 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3120 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3120 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3121 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3121 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3121 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3121 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3121 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3121 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3122 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3122 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3122 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3122 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3122 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3122 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3123 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3123 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3123 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3123 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3123 Film: full-coat mag track - 16 mm - polyester
      Preservation 3123 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - large
      Preservation 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3124 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - small
      Preservation 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3124 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - small
      Preservation 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3124 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - small
      Preservation 3124 Film: positive - 16 mm - polyester - color - silent - interpositive
      Preservation 3124 Video: Betacam SP - color - NTSC - small
    • User
    • User 3120 Video: DVD - color
      User 3120 Video: DVD - color
      User 3120 Video: DVD - color
      User 3120 Video: DVD - color
      User 3121 Video: DVD - color
      User 3121 Video: DVD - color
      User 3121 Video: DVD - color
      User 3121 Video: DVD - color
      User 3122 Video: DVD - color
      User 3122 Video: DVD - color
      User 3122 Video: DVD - color
      User 3122 Video: DVD - color
      User 3123 Video: DVD - color
      User 3123 Video: DVD - color
      User 3123 Video: DVD - color
      User 3123 Video: DVD - color
      User 3124 Video: DVD - color
      User 3124 Video: DVD - color
      User 3124 Video: DVD - color
      User 3124 Video: DVD - color

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, State of Israel
    Conditions on Use
    Third party must sign the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's SHOAH Outtakes Film License Agreement in order to reproduce and use film footage. Contact filmvideo@ushmm.org

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Film Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased the Shoah outtakes from Claude Lanzmann on October 11, 1996. The Claude Lanzmann Shoah Collection is now jointly owned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.
    Note
    Siegmunt Forst is in SHOAH (1985). The parts of his interview in the final release are not available at USHMM.

    Claude Lanzmann spent twelve years locating survivors, perpetrators, and eyewitnesses for his nine and a half hour film Shoah released in 1985. Without archival footage, Shoah weaves together extraordinary testimonies to render the step-by-step machinery of the destruction of European Jewry. Critics have called it "a masterpiece" and a "monument against forgetting." The Claude Lanzmann SHOAH Collection consists of roughly 185 hours of interview outtakes and 35 hours of location filming.

    Staff-curated clips include:
    Clip 1, Film ID 3119, 01:24:02 - 01:37:32
    Clip 2, Film ID 3121, 03:11:13 - 03:26:02
    Film Source
    Claude Lanzmann
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 4737
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:23:53
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1003913

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