The Paper Brigade was a group of 40 Jewish poets, writers and intellectuals who during the Nazi occupation of Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania, risked their lives to save the city’s Jewish library collections from destruction in Poland, Belarus and Russia.
From September 1941 to September 1943, the Nazis forced them to participate in the spoliation of the prestigious Jewish and non-Jewish libraries in the city of Vilnius. For this reason, the ghetto gave them the nickname of “paper brigade”. At the risk of their lives, however, they succeeded in hiding tens of thousands of precious works coveted by their “employers”.
A production by Les Films de la Mémoire, Création et Mémoire, Poischiche Films, ARTE G.E.I.E., RTBF, LRT
With the participation of : AB Themes for All History
With the support of : Center du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Tax Shelter of the Federal Government of Belgium, Decavi, Unisensor, Gynécologie Tassart, Immobilière Saint Antoine, Cabinet Médical Ingargiola, Go West Invest, Fondation du Judaisme de Belgique, Région des Pays de la Loire, Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée, PROCIREP / ANGOA, Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah
Additional Information
Career
Festivals
| Festival du Film Historique Waterloo | Belgium |
| Jewish International Film Festival Melbourne | Australia |
| Jüdisches Film Festival, Berlin/Brandenburg | Germany |
Broadcasts
| ARTE | Europe |
| LRT | Lithuania |
| RTBF | Belgium |
| TOUTE L'HISTOIRE | France |
Screenings
| Bibliothèque Nationale et Université de Strasbourg | France |
| Gandel Holocaust Education Conference - Melbourne | Australie |
| IMAJ Bruxelles | Belgique |
| Mémorial de la Shoah - Paris | France |
Watch The Paper Brigade on Vimeo
The Film
Film Reviews
Press Comments
veroniquechemla.info
Nourri d'émouvantes archives, d'éclairages d'historiens et de proches, un captivant récit.
documentaire.io
Diane Perelsztejn retrace la lutte clandestine de cette armée des ombres pour préserver de précieux documents. Nourri d’émouvantes archives, d’éclairages d’historiens et de proches, un captivant récit.
Mémoires Vives
Le film est très émouvant. Il y a beaucoup d’émotion de l’historien Bernard Suchecky qui a toujours les larmes aux yeux quand il évoque cette histoire …
Film Stills
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