Susanne Kovács knows that her paternal grandparents survived the Holocaust and fled to Denmark to begin a new life. That’s all she knows. The Hungarian couple kept their own story under lock and key throughout their lives and focused on immersing themselves into Danish everyday life as quickly as possible. A picture book life, seen from outside. To escape the memory of death, they smiled and remained silent. If no one sees the darkness, they hoped, normality becomes possible. But the unsaid did not fade but grew and finally began to darken the present.
Even as a child, Susanne felt that indefinable mix of fear, pain and rage that was bubbling under the surface. Long before she was able to put these feelings into words, they were in the room. But when, as a young woman, she decides to ask questions, she meets only rejection. May she dig up times against her grandmother’s will that are haunted by so many ghosts? Isn’t it better to remain silent after all this time? Who is allowed to speak and with whom? Which version of the truth is right? A courageous investigation of her own family story that makes it clear that at some point it’s no longer about guild, but about forgiveness.
Luc-Carolin Ziemann
