STORY ABOUT A BAD DREAM, A

This compelling docu-drama about the Holocaust, based on the memoirs of Eva Erbenova, recounts from a child's-eye view her experiences as a thirteen-year-old girl in Czechoslovakia during World War II, the only one from her family to survive the war. Without really understanding why, Eva and her family are removed from their home to the horrors of a concentration camp, where both her parents die before her very eyes. Later, after losing her way on a death march, the exhausted young girl ended up in a border village, where courageous people saved her life, hid her from the Nazis, and took the place of her own family. Eva's recollections are illustrated by archival footage, drawings by inmates at the Terezin concentration camp, and children's pictures based on her memoirs. In brief excerpts, Eva herself speaks about her experiences. A Story about a Bad Dream, because of its childlike and "naive" view of the events, will be especially useful in conveying the essence of the Holocaust to young viewers.

Directed by Pavel Stingl
2000, 49 minutes
Czech dialog with English subtitles
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125

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