Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

The story and legacy of those who survived the Holocaust through the Kindertransport--the late-'30s evacuation of children from German-held lands to foster homes and hostels in Great Britain--was honored in this year's Academy Award winner for best documentary, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport. The respect and inspiration continues with the outstanding DVD edition filled with a collection of supplements that can be considered more "enhancers" than simply "extras." (You won't find a half-dozen foreign-language trailers here.) On their commentary track, director Mark Jonathan Harris and producer Deborah Oppenheimer (whose mother was one of the 10,000 Kindertransport children) speak of their goal to structure the film like a narrative ("as if through the eyes of a child," says Harris) to more accurately depict the story and time element involved. Of the handful of bonus interviews, clips and study guides, the coverage of the film's opening in Berlin, attended by Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Time-Warner CEO Gerald Levin are a highlight, particularly when the two address the audience. Something must have clicked when Schroder viewed the film, because last month, Germany's Agency for Political Education declared it one of the country's compulsory educational requirements. --Cyril Pearl