History 62’

THE ESCAPEES OF RAVA-RUSKA, WITNESSES OF THE HOLOCAUST

From 1940, French and Belgian soldiers, confined in German war camps tried to escape back to their country. Recaptured multiple times, 25 000 of them were sent to a punitive camp in Rava-Ruska, Galicia, a region of the Ukraine where they faced the extermination of the Jewish population by the Waffen SS and Ukrainian militias. Eight escapees, now centenarians, bear witness.

Through unique interviews and archive footage, this documentary reveals the courage of rebellious prisoners of war, confined at the hellish disciplinary camp known as Rava-Ruska, and witnesses of the genocide of Jews from Ukraine and Poland that began in 1942.

Production: Les Films d'Ici, with the participation of France Télévisions.

Directed by: Chochana Boukhobza

Languages: French, English

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