The latest feature documentary from Mint Pictures has been selected as the closing night film of the 2023 Jewish International Film Festival.
Hitler’s Jewish Soldier? tells the staggering story of Melbourne’s Alex Kurzem, a young boy who escaped the massacre of his family in Belarus in 1941. He survived in the woods during one of the coldest winters on record, only to be captured by a Latvian battalion that was absorbed by the SS.
But instead of killing him, they took pity on him and gave him a new name, adorned him with a uniform and a gun. They made him their child mascot – “Hitler’s youngest soldier.”
Building on an award-winning documentary aired on the ABC in 2002 and an international bestselling book published by Penguin in 2007 – both titled ‘The Mascot’ – the film traces Alex’s journey to Australia, where he hid his secret for almost 50 years before telling his family.
The BBC described his story as “one of the most remarkable stories to emerge from the War” but some refused to believe it, accusing him of being a hoax, a liar, a charlatan and a fraud.
What unfolds is the rollercoaster story of The Mascot’s attempt to sift through the rubble of his past, along the way revealing multiple false identities, a family reunion that wasn’t and a DNA revelation with a blistering sting in the tail.
The Jewish International Film Festival’s closing night is in Sydney (Randwick Ritz) on Tuesday, November 28 and in Melbourne (Elsternwick Classic) on Wednesday, November 29. Tickets at https://www.jiff.com.au/films/the-jewish-nazi
The Jewish Nazi? was commissioned by SBS Australia, which will air the documentary in 2024, with funding from Screen Australia and Screen NSW. Abacus Media Rights is the international distributor.