In the wake of horrific attacks by Hamas and some of their supporters on October 7, antisemitic sentiment is once again on the rise.
In a political climate where the suffering of innocent Palestinians in southern Isreal has its detractors, and countless column inches continue to make no difference, Back to Berlin feels more relevant than ever.
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This potent documentary captures the catharsis of 11 bikers as they deliver their unforgettable message about the Holocaust back to Hitler’s homeland. In this symbolic journey of solidarity, they liberate the Maccabiah torch from Israel and bring it Back to Berlin. Flying their flag from Athens to the site of Hitler’s Olympic Games in 1936, stopping off at Auschwitz en route.
The Maccabiah movement was created to challenge Jewish stereotypes and promote strength to a wider world who considered them weak. Formed in the late 19th Century by Hungarian physician Max Nordau, and Austrian Hungarian Jewish journalist Theodore Hertzl. It was a reaction against Parisian chants of ‘Le sale Juif’on the streets of Paris in 1894, when a French army officer with Jewish origins was wrongfully accused of passing military secrets to Germany. Dreyfus became a symbol of anti-Semitism and fuelled the creation of this movement, that would unite Jews and reinforce ties to the Land of Israel.
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Back to Berlin may have one foot in the past, but it carries a prescient message for our here and now. This is not only a Jewish story but a human one, that demonstrates what happens when words become weapons, and they remain unchecked. How the act of remembering can become a powerful form of resistance in an age where history is being re-written. Antisemitism may be on the rise, but Back to Berlin stands in opposition to this resurgence by promoting understanding and acceptance to audiences with a conscience.