Premiere of the documentary “Polmission. Passports’ Secret” in Johannesburg, South Africa
27.10.2022
During World War II, as part of the so-called "Passport Action", the Ładoś Group, in consultation with the Polish government in London, implemented a secret plan to save Jews. Thanks to false passports of neutral countries, Polish diplomats in Switzerland and Jewish activists saved at least several hundred Jews from the Holocaust. Passports of Latin American countries, mainly Paraguay, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia, Peru and Haiti, protected their ghetto holders against deportation to German extermination camps. Their owners were directed to internment camps, where they had a better chance of survival and some of them lived to see the end of the war.
On October 27, 2022, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria, in cooperation with the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre and Polish Television, organized in Johannesburg the premiere screening of a documentary film directed by Jacek Papis entitled "Polmission. Passport secrets ".
Mduduzi Ntuli, head of the JH&GC Education Development Section, moderated the event and also gave an introductory speech on behalf of the Centre. The head of the Political and Economic Department at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria, Jarosław Spyra introduced the audience to the historical background of the events presented in the documentary, mentioned the Ładoś Group and spoke about the rescue of Jews by Polish diplomats and Jewish circles. The viewers also had the opportunity to listen to the recorded speech of the director of the film, Jacek Papis, who touched upon the topics related to the script and the production of the film. The director emphasized that the film was the result of his private investigation aimed at showing the scale of the participation of the Polish government-in-exile in saving Jews. He also mentioned Tadeusz Romer, a Polish politician and diplomat, organizer of aid for Polish refugees of Jewish origin in Japan and Shanghai, who will be the protagonist of his next film.
The film "Polmission. Passport Secrets” is a continuation of the film“ Paraguayan Passports ”, a film production of the Institute of National Remembrance. It presents the plot of one of the largest and most mysterious actions to save Jews during World War II. It tells about the Survivors and the activities of Polish diplomacy and Polish intelligence, in cooperation with international organizations. The document consists of many interviews, historical materials and statements by historians, extending our view to the entire situation, time and events taking place. The main interlocutors are the Survivors or their descendants directly, which makes the film also a documentary record of extraordinary, individual fates.
After the screening, viewers could share their impressions of the film. For some of them, the subject of the film also to some extent related to the fate of their families.
Photo: Courtesy of JH&GC
