No Place on Earth
was a Holocaust documentary like no other.
Brought to life by cave explorer Chris Nicola the film centers around
five families and their amazing story of survival hiding underground from the
Nazis during World War II. Testimony
from living survivors, just children and teens at the time, is masterfully
combined with brilliant historical reenactment to bring their story to
life. Focusing primarily on the Stermer,
Dodyk, and Wexler families the film begins with Nicola’s discovery of their
camp perfectly preserved in a dark, muddy section of one of the largest cave
systems in the world located in the Ukraine.
After stumbling across the site which contained children’s shoes,
buttons, cups, and earthen tables and chairs carved into the very floor of the
cave, Nicola was determined to uncover the story behind the dwelling. Nearly ten years after first discovering the cave
he was about to give up when he was contacted by the granddaughter of one of
the living survivors. From there the
story takes off and we discover that these families, escaping persecution,
lived continuously underground for nearly a year and a half, the longest
recorded underground habitation by humans.
Through many instances of luck and an incredibly strong will to survive,
the families band together and wait out the deadliest war in history concealed
in complete darkness. Over half a century
later, the surviving members and their grandchildren travel back to the Ukraine
with Nicola to once again visit the caves that saved their lives. Incredible and life affirming, the
film is a departure from other Holocaust films as the story is entirely
centered around the families with almost no focus on the Nazis or what is
happening in the outside world. A
compelling and beautiful story, No Place
on Earth shows us that even nearly 70 years after the end of the war, there
are still remarkable tales of history yet to be unearthed.
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