Naked Among Wolves

This movie is absolutely riveting from start to finish. It is based on a true story of how a group of prisoners in the camp go to extreme risks to protect a three year old Polish Jewish boy [smuggled in a valise and who had escaped extermination in Auschwitz] from the Nazis and certain death in Buchenwald concentration camp.

Besides facing problems in keeping the boy hidden, the prisoners involved , many of whom are members of the communist resistance are also grappling with the issue of armed resistance and how they are going to go about it. The Nazis in charge of the camp suspect something is afoot and try to find the identities of the ringleaders of the resistance, whilst at the same time fearing the advancing Allied forces and what that means for them.

The acting is amazing, and the cast of characters, with familiar names like Armin Mueller Stahl as Hovel, a member of the communist resistance,do a good job of credibly portraying the various characters. The Nazis are also well-portrayed from the two officers who are evil incarnate, bent on finding the little boy and exterminating him, as well as killing off as many prisoners before they retreat, these roles are well done indeed.

Besides the main drama of keeping the boy hidden and organising the uprising against the Nazis, not much else os portrayed about the camp. Buchenwald may not be as infamous as Auschwitz, Majdanek or Dachau, but it was a grim place in its own right. It was the scene of mass murder and also medical experiments. And its history after liberation wasn't exactly a happy ending as Buchenwald was used by the Russians to house Nazi war criminals and also dissenters of the Stalinist regime.

But, despite some flaws, the movie itself is riveting and each scene is filled with a sense of desperation in line with the period in history that it portrays. A must watch for anyone interested in World War Two history. I would also recommend movies like Escape from Sobibor and The Grey Zone, both of which deal with armed resistance against the Nazis in the camps.

For historical significance this movie deserves more than 3 stars, but one should rate movies based on how much one actually liked the movie, thus my 3-star rating. (This still means I liked and recommend the movie!) I watched this after seeing Frank Beyer's "Jakob the Liar," and I think "Naked Among Wolves" is the better film. One of my nit-picks with these films is that the harshness and brutality of life in the ghetto or concentration camp is not fully revealed. The films are products of their times, I suppose. And one cannot make actors look like skeletons. The most brutal portrayl of the holocaust I have seen (in a non-documentary) is in the TV mini-series "War and Remembrance." Neither of Beyer's films comes close. Again, I'm sure that there was so much an East German film director in the 1960's and 70's could do. That criticism out of the way, I think that "Naked Among Wolves" is a fine film with interesting characters and performances.

This is a ture story although told from the communist view. the child in the movie is now 71 and lives in Israel. He was the subject of an interview published in Jewish Week or the the Jewish Forward. What I found surprising was that German communists were in the camp for as long as 11 years-meaning they were incarcerated in 1934. Jewish prisoners were shipped to auschwitz once the war was on.