William’s Lives
A documentary about the lives William saved.
William Cohen and his family, fled Nazi Germany with the unlikely aid of a high ranking nazi official, whose life William saved in WW1. After reaching safety in the USA William’s sons return to Germany to fight in WW2 as US soldiers.
Interviews recorded over 25 years, William’s sons tell the story of their jewish family’s survival leaving and returning to Germany. This story spans decades starting in WW1 and ending after WW2. It is an informative documentary weaving interviews with archival and elements of reenactment to make the viewer not only understand the history of William Cohen’s family but to feel emotionally connected to their story.
These stories of Jews that triumphed with their lives must be retold to remember the horrors of the holocaust and the times leading up to it. This film is for the generations current and to come who aren’t hearing these stories. These are the memories of the people who lived through these events, told from their view with the knowledge they had on the subjects.
William Cohen
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Ep 1. Jewish family man, William Cohen, saved the lives of his four sons and wife by fleeing Nazi German with the unlikely aid of Gauliter Meyer, a high ranking nazi official, whose life William saved in WW1.
Top left to right: Rudy, Henry and Victor Cohen
Bottom left to right: Gertrude, Walter and William
Ep 2. After fleeing Nazi Germany, the now stateless Cohen family tries to find normalcy in Panama. They face many obstacles as they have little to no money, they do not speak the language, their living conditions are a drastic change to what they are accustomed to. Eventually they are allowed into the US and begin finding work, and love in Baltimore. On the eldest brother’s 18th birthday Pearl Harbor is bombed.
Arriving in America: Gertrude, Walter and William
Ep 3. Upon hearing the news of Pearl Harbor the brothers decide to enlist in the US army to go fight against the Nazis. Initially turned away because they are not yet US citizens. They are eventually drafted, the four Cohen brothers return to their native Germany to fight as infantrymen, German interpreters, and engineers. These stories are incredible triumphs, of the will to survive and THRIVE and is instilled through the retelling of this story to the next generations of the Cohen family.
Top left to right: Victor and Henry Cohen
Bottom left to right: Rudy and Walter Cohen
William's Lives 