The Children of Palestine
(Die Kinder Palästinas)

Die Kinder Palästinas © DEFA-Stiftung
Tetzlaff, Kurt |
Niebelschütz, Joachim |
Porsche, Manfred |
Greunig, Jürgen |
Haase, Hartmut |
Kling, Ulrich |
DEFA Studio for Documentary Films |
Synopsis
The film crew talks with Palestinian families who have been driven from their homeland after the UN petition for the division of Palestine and the founding of the State of Israel on Palestinian land in 1948. Many Nakba survivors ended up in Lebanese refugee camps, including Bayt al-Sumud, Bourj al-Barajneh and Rashidiyyeh, where they have lived for over three decades under the harshest conditions. Some of the refugees tell their family stories, talk about their experiences during the 1976 massacre at the Tal al-Za’tar camp, their longing of returning to their homeland and their wishes for their children’s futures. While the parents share their stories, they give insight into the lives of Palestinian children who experience death around them, live in orphanages, or take part in military training offered by Al-Ashbal Fatah’s youth organization as a last resort of self-defense.
Bibliography
Neidhardt, Irit. “Palestine Fights: Behind the Scenes of PLO-GDR Cooperation in Filmmaking.” Documentary Filmmaking in the Middle East and North Africa. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2022. 63-78.
Awards
2024 | Voices of Resilience in the GDR and Germany Today |
1980 | Hani Jawahariya Prize and Silver Dove, DOK Leipzig |
Press comments
“Throughout the film, Tetzlaff and his cameraman Jürgen Greuning, observe the daily routine from a respectful distance, observe and introduce family life, as well as institutional setups, taking time to allow the audience to grasp a sense of the place. Their status as outsiders, as visitors who want to learn, and who are at times overwhelmed by what they see, is never hidden. The sporadic commentary is reminiscent of a travelogue, and is always subjective, something that was very unusual in DEFA films.” —Irit Neidhardt, “Palestine Fights: Behind the Scenes of PLO-GDR Cooperation in Filmmaking”