Uncle Chatzkel

Uncle Chatzkel explores the story of a man and his reunion with his nephew Rod, a South African born Australian living in Sydney. Rod is both the filmmaker and Chatzkel’s nephew. Lemchen has lived through the Russian Revolution, two World Wars, a Communist regime, and the transition of Lithuania from Soviet Republic to an independent state. During the Holocaust, Nazis and their Lithuanian supporters killed Chatzkel’s parents and children. He and his wife Lena were then sent to separate concentration camps in Germany. Unlike many other Jews who were not Communists, Chatzkel and his wife, both Holocaust survivors, chose to remain in Eastern Europe after the WWII, despite the loss of their children and other members of their families. Following the death of his wife in 1979, Chatzkel was left in Europe without any close family. This film tells of the turning points in his life, which are linked to central events in the 20th century. Including rare Soviet and Lithuanian archive footages.