

The Windermere Children
Episode 1 | 1h 27m 53sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Young Holocaust survivors gather at an English estate to recover.
Child survivors of the Holocaust are brought to an estate near England’s Lake Windermere to recuperate with the help of volunteer therapists. Without their families, they find kinship in each other and form bonds that give them hope for the future.
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The Windermere Children
Episode 1 | 1h 27m 53sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Child survivors of the Holocaust are brought to an estate near England’s Lake Windermere to recuperate with the help of volunteer therapists. Without their families, they find kinship in each other and form bonds that give them hope for the future.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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MAN: They tore me out from my father's arm and took me away.
This moment I will never ever forget.
MAN: We were unloaded from the trains, and boys and men in one queue, women and children in the other queue.
And they told us to move forward... WOMAN: I was 10 months old when I arrived in Theresienstadt.
MAN: At night, we could see the chimneys were glowing.
MAN: You had dead bodies all laying on the floor.
MAN: Well, I hope it's not me tomorrow.
MAN: We were starving all the time.
All we were thinking of was food.
MAN: We were supposed to be eliminated... MAN: They got the 10,000 children, took them to Chelmno, and they gassed them and then they buried them to mass graves.
MAN: I only believed that the war was over when I actually saw German soldiers captured by the Russians.
MAN: And they told me that we're going to England.
MAN: I didn't know anything about England.
I couldn't speak any-- not a word of English.
I knew two words: I knew "OK." WOMAN: I came with absolutely nothing because I had no clothes of my own, no toys... MAN: Didn't know where we were going or what we're going to do.
♪ (Men speaking Polish): ♪ OSCAR: This is the last group.
It's been a long day, let's get them settled as soon as possible.
(brakes squeal) (engine idling) JOCK: Welcome!
It's warm inside.
MAN: Down here.
(Marie calling in German) (people talking in background) MAN: Off you get, that's it.
Welcome to Windermere!
BERISH: This way.
(people talking in background) LEONARD: Welcome.
Welcome to... (vomits) (gasps, chuckles mirthlessly) (in Polish): My dear boy, it's nothing a damp cloth can't sort out.
Now, please, um...
Please, follow your friends.
(in German): JOCK: Mind the steps.
(in Polish): BERISH (in Polish): MAN: Please remove all your clothes and put them on the pile.
MAN: We have to get rid of them for typhus.
MAN: You will be given new clothes in the morning.
MAN: Just a little cough for me.
(Child coughs) MAN: Throw them on the pile-- we've got some blankets.
(people coughing) MAN: Next one, please.
♪ (door closes, women talking) (people talking in background) LEONARD: Oscar!
Hi.
Ah, may I introduce you to Edith and Georg Lauer, kept prisoner with some of the children in Theresienstadt.
Edith, Georg, overseeing our project, our esteemed director, Oscar Friedmann.
Traveling all day, you must be exhausted.
We are glad to finally be here.
Before coming to England, Oscar ran an institution for troubled boys in Germany.
He has since become quite the expert with regards to child refugees.
Which is why I asked him to lead this project.
EDITH: They are going to be here for four months?
Yes.
And after?
We are working very hard at what will happen to them after Windermere.
Come, you look shattered.
(chuckles) (door hinges squeaking) Mr. Friedmann.
One of the lads is refusing to get off.
Refusing?
I tried to explain he's got nothing to fear, but he won't budge.
(footsteps approaching) OSCAR (in German): What happened?
We talked.
And now we wait.
And how long you... (footsteps approaching) (quietly): Take him inside, Jock, would you?
This way, Salek.
Come inside.
(people talking in background) JOCK: Come this way.
Now, let's get you seen quickly.
Nurse?
Good lad.
My name is, uh, Jock Lawrence.
And you?
AREK (in German): GEORG: Nein.
(in German): Arek.
Arek Herszlikowicz.
Arek.
And where are, where are you from, son?
Otoschno.
Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Theresienstadt.
He was in four camps?
WILLENSHAW: Again, physically smaller than we might expect for his age.
Various scars across his back and arms.
Burn scars.
Damage to the fingers, healed--badly.
Open your mouth, please, son.
(speaking Polish) Four missing teeth.
Several in decay.
Again, almost certainly due to malnutrition.
Yet another for the dentist.
Problem?
At the last minute, another boy on the flight went back to Poland.
This boy took his place.
But there was no more time to amend the roster.
Oh, my dear boy, calm yourself.
We shall sort everything out.
In the meantime...
Welcome to England!
(people talking in background) (people talking in background, door closes) (boy laughing) (hinges squeak) (door closes, woman speaking Polish) MARIE: Compared to survivors in newsreels I've seen, they look more normal than I was expecting.
Three months ago, you wouldn't have recognized a single child.
This way, please.
Mr. Friedmann is quite clear girls and boys must sleep separately.
EDITH: How?
When these boys and these girls are inseparable?
We want them to leave the chaos of their former life behind and restore order.
And I understand.
They will not.
Then we must explain it to them.
May I suggest explaining it tomorrow, once they and I have slept?
♪ EDITH: Would you prefer me to?
I can manage.
(spits) EDITH: Most strangers get a slap.
He must like you.
I, I did not expect such little ones to survive.
They were exceptions.
Hidden.
Living off scraps, like rats.
I will be most curious to see how it has affected them.
Turn around.
Wherever Bela goes, they go, too.
Inseparable.
OSCAR: Leonard, you know, the Lauers think four months is not enough.
Well, you've certainly got your hands full.
One of the boys said to me, "The reason I am alive "is because I was strong enough to take bread from someone who was too weak to eat it."
The camps taught them survival at any cost.
Four months?
Not much time to bring them back to civilization.
Keeping them all together in one place was your idea.
We've achieved that.
I wish I could give you longer.
We raised as much as we could.
(birds twittering) (birds twittering outside) (snoring lightly) (birds twittering) (ignites lighter) Salek!
(birds twittering, insects buzzing) (breath trembling) ♪ (panting) (chuckling, panting) (laughing) (panting, laughing) (whooping, laughing) (laughing) OSCAR (in German): (Oscar continues speaking) IKE (in Polish): Uh, Oscar...
If you ask me they look a tad peckish.
♪Baruch atah Adonai♪ (dishware clattering, children shouting) (children shouting) OSCAR: Hertha!
More bread!
- What?!
- More bread!
Let them see it will never run out!
(children cheering, panting) ♪ JOCK: Do you think every meal's going to be like this?
Let's hope not.
So how do you plan to tame them?
Tame them?
Jock, they're not animals.
(birds twittering) ♪ MAN: Next!
Stand there, please.
(pump spraying) Next!
(coughing) Close your eyes.
Man: Right, next!
MALCOLM: Ey, up.
(snickering) MAN: What's going on here, then?
(laughter continues) MAN: Right, next!
(spraying continues) MALCOLM: Who you looking at, Fritz?
(spraying continues) MAN: Oh, look!
Adolf wants to shake hands!
Go on, shake hands, Malc.
Go on!
Now yank the Kraut bastard over!
Aw, go on, Malc!
Pull a bit harder.
What is he doing?
What you doing?!
I'm trying!
He's stronger than he looks!
(laughing) Get off me!
Let go!
Get off!
Hey!
(Windermere children cheering, laughing) (spraying continues) MALCOLM: Lads!
MALCOLM: Lads!
MAN: Come on.
MALCOLM: Get off!
(yelps) (spraying continues) MAN: That's good... (Malcolm coughing) MAN: Next.
(Arek roaring, Windermere children laughing) (roaring continues) (coughing, children laughing) (children whooping) Woo-hoo!
(ringing bicycle bell) (whooping) Whoo!
(talking in Polish) (whooping, bicycle bell dinging) (bicycle bell rings) Mrs. Lauer?
Good morning.
I would like to apologize for the ill-judged comments I made about the little children last night.
No apology necessary.
I would like to understand them more.
To that end, I was wondering if you might bring them to my classroom to paint.
Paint?
I have developed a therapy where we invite children to paint without instruction or critique.
They choose the colors and the themes that they want.
I've discovered that this freedom allows their subconscious to reveal itself upon the paper.
It would be fascinating to know what, uh... the, the little leader... Bela.
To see a visual representation of her psychology would be extraordinary.
I am taking them for a walk.
Come with.
(dog barking in distance) (people talking in background) (Ike speaking Polish) (girls giggling) What's your name?
(chuckling): And why are you dressed like that?
(girls laughing) Perhaps wear some trousers next time!
♪ (birds twittering) (dog barking) (screaming, crying) He's perfectly friendly!
It's not the dog.
It's any dog.
Kinder!
Are these the Jewish children we've been told about?
Some of them, yes.
Bela!
We were promised that land would be given back to the local community after the war.
Why can't their own people take them?
Oh, well, most Jewish communities have been established in the cities.
Then send them to the cities.
That is the plan, once they have been revitalized with careful supervision.
It hardly seems fair that we should have to accommodate all these foreigners.
Madam... are you aware what these children have been through?
The war has been terrible for everyone, not just for you people.
(dog yapping) (bird squawking) EDITH: Kinder!
Bela!
Kinder!
Bela!
(goose honking) (laughing) MAN: Come on now!
(talking in Polish) (laughing) WORKER: What size?
(speaking Polish) There are boots and shoes.
(children laughing) (slowly): Newspaper.
Newspaper.
ALL (slowly): Newspaper.
Photo-graph, photograph.
ALL (slowly): Photograph.
(shouting in Polish) It would be easier if you put out the cigarettes.
Who can say this?
ALL (slowly): It is a pleasure to meet you.
(children shouting outside, whistle blows) (slowly): Window.
WEISS (in German): Yes.
English girls.
English girls?
BEN: He like.
WEISS: Likes English girls?
Sala.
(in German): Watch and listen.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
ALL: Good afternoon.
My name is Rabbi Weiss.
My name is Sala Feiermann.
My name is Benyak Helfgott.
My name is Arek Herszlikowicz.
My name is Itzek Alterman.
My name is... ALL: Ephraim Minsburg!
(laughing) My name... My name is Chaim Olmer!
(all laughing and applauding) ♪ (breathing shallowly): Mama.
(moans) (moaning, panting) (breath trembling) (people calling out in sleep) (boy yelling) (children moaning, whimpering) (closes lighter) (children screaming faintly, whimpering) BERISH: I wonder if they'll ever be free of night terrors.
(boy groans inside) Talking about it will help.
(boy screams faintly) Starvation, beatings, shootings, hanging, gassing.
All these were commonplace in their lives.
What would you say?
"Forget about all that and focus on the future"?
First, I will listen.
A favorite game of the guards' was to put ground-up glass into our soup and watch some of us slowly bleed to death from within.
For those of us who remember a life before, these things were horrific.
But these children, they, they grew up in that horror.
For them, it was normal.
If you ask them how they feel, they might just...shrug.
I get the impression most don't want to talk about it.
They are more obsessed with the fate of their relatives.
Every day, they ask when the Red Cross is coming.
♪ MARIE: Very nice.
Lovely.
(brush scratching) (boys playing soccer in distance) (whistle blows) JOCK: Come on, lads!
Put your back into it!
(shouting in Polish) Is he very good?
Or the rest very, very bad?
No real skill.
But from his speed, his balance, his strength, he's clearly a natural athlete.
Amazing, considering.
Oscar, I've been contacted by the coach of a Windermere team, asking if we'd like to play a friendly with them.
A friendly?
Aye.
A match played as a gesture of friendship from the local community to the children.
Is the team good?
Aye, not bad.
Well, if you had 11 of him... (yelps) Probably.
Surely, what doesn't kill them makes them stronger?
I think they need to experience what they can do, not what they can't.
Tell your contact thank you, but no.
(boy speaking Polish) (blows whistle) Hold the ball!
♪ WOMAN: Hello, love.
(talking in background) Look who it is.
Go on, Malc.
You seen this, Malc?
(Malcolm and friends laughing) MALCOLM: Enjoying English ice cream, are you?
(Malcolm and friends laughing) Here's something to remind you of home.
(laughing) (children crying) (Edith speaking German) (laughing) MALCOLM: Look at him.
(breath trembling) (boys laughing) (laughing) Enough.
(softly in German): BOY: Aye, aye, Malc.
What do you want?
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
(exhales) You were attempting the Nazi salute?
So?
So...
It is always the right arm.
Trust me, I'm German.
I'm also a Jew.
So, no Nazi.
Try.
(more forcefully): Try!
Higher.
(exhales) Now...
The boy you scared so much that he ... himself, he's not German--he's Polish, as are the others.
They watched their families being slaughtered by the Nazis.
Do you understand?
Slaughtered?
You should lower your arms, boys.
You look like fools.
None of us can imagine what they went through in their short lives.
Not you, not me.
I need your word that my children are safe to walk your streets.
From man to man.
What do you say?
Well, thank you so much.
Good day to you.
♪ That's very good, thank you.
It's very good, thank you.
♪ (music playing, people singing in film) WOMAN (in film): Come on, girls, I can't hear you singing.
And what about you, fellas?
Just imagine you were... and a nice little bit of stuff waiting for you.
(woman talking indistinctly) ♪ London is the place for me ♪ Now all together, boys!
(singing in film) (door opens) (door closes) Come with me.
Son, I've been a P.E.
teacher for many years.
I've seen a lot of kids play all sorts of sports.
The most you can hope for is a modicum of enthusiasm and the ability to put the right plimsoll on the right foot.
The number I've encountered with genuine physical ability is small, to say the least.
Do you understand a single word I'm saying?
(slowly): Plimsoll.
You have natural talent.
But like any natural gift, you need to work at it to make the most of it.
So, here's a, a book of exercises for you to look at, if you're interested.
(man talking in film) (children laughing) No.
For you.
WOMAN (in film): Oh, so you want to play, eh?
Well, I tell you what we'll do.
We just imagine we're all...
Thank you, sir.
And the girls, bless their little hearts... (children laughing) Forget any notion of competence.
Whether the child is a good or a bad artist is immaterial.
My interest only concerns what they paint.
How do these compare with children who survived the Blitz?
Despite being bombed daily, those children expressed themselves as you would expect of those in good mental health.
Uh, strong colors, clear blue skies, shining suns, smiling faces.
They painted happy times.
By contrast, these children depict their most painful memories of losing family and identity.
And extreme violence.
It is as though they can no longer access the happy memories to draw upon.
"Jedem das Seine" was the...
The gate of Buchenwald, I know.
(sighs deeply) I'm sitting here all day waiting to talk to them.
And here, they scream from the rooftops.
Before I came here, I was determined to hold their experience at arm's length to protect myself.
But how can you analyze these paintings?
How can you ignore the suffering on every page?
Week after week, I see this same level of extremity.
When I saw this one, I was overwhelmed by sadness.
I did something I have never done before.
Instinctively, I went to the boy, and I held him.
(sighs): Marie.
We feel compelled to respond as if they were our own children.
How does what we feel help them?
(girl moaning in sleep) ♪ (boy moaning in sleep) (whimpering) (stops whimpering) (gasps) (girl whimpers in sleep) (children screaming in sleep) (hinge squeaks) (exhales) (Oscar speaking German): ♪ ♪ (thunder rumbling) (birds chirping) (thunder rumbling) (rain pattering, birds chirping) Tree.
Branch.
Twig.
Rain.
Water.
River.
(both catching breath) Bird.
(bird chirping) (slowly): Flower.
(slowly): Thank you.
(slowly): You are welcome.
Kiss.
Lunch.
Hungry?
Always.
(cars approaching, horn honking) (children talking, laughing in background) (children talking in Polish) (car doors close) ♪ OSCAR (reading in German): (child shouts inside) (speaking German): Salek... (splashing) (water gurgling) (gasps) (breathing deeply) (chairs scraping) Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei rabba.
Amen.
ALL: Amen.
B'alma di-v'ra khirutei, v'yamlikh malkhutei... (takes shallow breath) ...b'hayeikhon uvyomeikhon d'khol beit Yisrael, ba'agala uvizman kariv, v'imru amen.
ALL: Amen.
WEISS: Y'hei sh'mei rabba m'varakh l'alam ulalmei almaya.
Yitbarakh v'yishtabakh v'yitpa'ar v'yitromam v'yitnasei... (voice breaking): ...v'yithadar v'yit'aleh v'yit'halal sh'mei d'kudsha, b'rikh hu.
L'eila min-kol-birkhata v'shirata, tushb'hata v'nehemata, da'amiran b'alma, v'imru amen.
ALL: Amen.
Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu v'al kol-Yisrael, v'imru amen.
ALL: Amen.
(Sala speaking Polish): (footsteps retreating, door slams) (gasping tearfully) Sala?
♪ (birds chirping) (in German): (shushing) Salek?
Salek!
♪ Sala?
Sala, eventually, when your strength is fully restored and you've built a new life, you will meet someone who will love you as much as you love them.
(children shouting outside, Sala sniffles) (Ike shouting in Polish): JOCK: Focus on the game, boys!
(whistle blows) IKE: Into the center!
All of you.
Come on.
(whistle blowing) Down.
Press-ups.
Now, please.
Right, 20.
(boys grunting) (blows whistle) Start again.
With Ben.
(boys grunt) (whistle blows) Back on the floor, son-- You barely done 5.
You same, like guard I knew.
Same voice.
Same face.
Same... Whistle.
Whistle.
Back on the floor, son.
What do you want from me, son?
To go easy on you out of pity?
Is that how you're going to live out there?
Hm?
How long do you think pity lasts?
Poor refugee children.
They're not just refugees.
Yes, spare me the sermon, Rabbi.
I know what they are.
You think in six months, the real world will care?
Everyone suffered in the war.
BERISH: Not like they have.
JOCK: Folk don't walk around comparing misery and loss.
Maybe no need to shout?
JOCK: I wasn't shouting.
Everyone speaks like this in Scotland.
(both muttering in Polish) Ben.
Perhaps just leave it.
Perhaps mind your own business, Rabbi.
Ben!
I've developed more training for you, more advanced, now you're getting stronger.
You need to keep pushing yourself, son.
I am son of Moishe Helfgott.
Shot running away from death march.
Years, 37.
I say that not for pity.
For truth.
It's just an expression.
I say it to everyone.
I not want you say it to me.
Please.
Understood.
The war's over, Berish.
They need to move forward.
Not so easy when everyone you love lies in the past.
♪ Ike speaking: Chaim speaking: (boys laugh) (all laugh) ♪ (boys speaking Polish) (whoops) (sizzling) (breathing evenly) (whimpering) (gasps) (pan sizzling) (all laughing) OSCAR: I trust you enjoyed the eggs, gentlemen.
I trust you also enjoyed the other food that's gone missing.
And the knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls, bicycles...
Even a frying pan from the dining room.
Anything that isn't nailed down or locked up is likely to disappear.
(knock at door) Yes?
A woman has just come from Windermere about a dog.
What kind of dog?
A missing one.
OSCAR: The local community has been very good to us.
Stealing from anyone is completely unacceptable.
But there will be no punishment.
Instead, I will respect you for having the courage to live up to your responsibilities.
(whispering) Did you take the dog?
Go and fetch it, please.
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Unlike carpets, madam, children are not improved with beating.
(footsteps approaching slowly) (dog whimpering) Thank you.
(slowly): I am sorry, madame.
(dog whimpers) (dog barks softly) OSCAR: Thank you, Juliusz.
(car door closes) (children murmuring, engine starts) JOCK: The invitation to a friendly game of football between us and the locals to foster good relations... Now might be the time to reconsider.
(dog barking) [Woman singing in foreign language] In autumn, the weather gets... cooler.
Who can say this?
In autumn, the weather gets cooler.
(whistle blows) JOCK: Come on, lads.
Press-ups.
30.
(chanting prayers in Hebrew) Well done.
(yelling) (singing) Good luck in America.
LEONARD: We've always known this moment would come, but everything is being done to help make the transition from Windermere as smooth as possible.
Everyone is determined to give each child the opportunity to live a full and productive life.
We've made sure that every one of them has somewhere to go.
I wish I could say I feel they will be ready to leave.
I feel the same.
(chuckles) Well, what parent ever believes they have done enough to prepare their children to fly the nest?
True.
Yet every forest floor is littered with bodies of young birds pushed out before they were ready.
We are not pushing them out.
Their departure is carefully planned and equally carefully supported.
Compared to when they arrived, the children are transformed.
Outwardly, aye.
Aye, they're fatter, fitter, speak some decent English.
But, up here... Who knows?
LEONARD: You must understand, if I had accepted the government's original offer, we would be sitting on milk crates in a hall in Bethnal Green talking about 10 children, not 300!
We have to accept there is neither a bottomless pit of money from the community nor infinite goodwill from the Home Office.
I also want to do more for them.
Six months ago, they lived from one piece of rotting bread to the next.
Many had given up all hope.
Your compassion and skill has set them on their feet.
Because of you, they now possess the tools to move on from here with confidence and hope.
Every day, relationships are forming before our eyes... And breaking apart.
OSCAR: Yes, but this is natural.
They are starting to behave like normal children their age.
In just four months.
It's extraordinary.
I applaud.
I applaud each of you.
♪ (tires grinding slowly) (bicycle bell ringing) Keep up, lads!
(bicycle bells ringing) (boys talking) JOCK: Warm-up, boys.
Gather round.
Keep stretching, lads.
Mr. Montefiore.
Mr. Montefiore.
Have you heard news on my papers yet?
(chuckling): My dear boy, I have started the ball rolling.
The ball?
The ball is in motion.
The wheels are turning.
With a fair wind and the continuous application of elbow grease, you shall have your papers in your name.
When?
That I can't say.
But I can say eventually.
Welcome to England.
BEN: Boot.
(slowly): Laces.
Fingers.
Hand.
(sniffs) Fist.
Open.
Empty.
(swallows) Alone.
Family.
(slowly): Family.
(swallows) (voice wavering): Family.
(crying) (exhales): Grass.
Green.
Trees.
Green.
(chuckles) England is very green.
♪ (boys grunting, clamoring) BOY: Good job!
(whistle blows) (crowd applauding) (whistle blows) (whistle blows) (grunts) (crowd gasps) (whistle blows) Throw in Calgarth.
Hope you got your medical bag.
It's in the car if I need it.
(crowd talking indistinctly) Nice one, lad!
You OK?
Tip top, my dear.
Very tip top.
Thank you.
So kind.
You're welcome.
(whistle blows) (crowd cheering) (whistle blowing) That's halftime!
WILLENSHAW: One-all.
Have to hand it to you Your lads have been brutal but effective.
Haven't they just?
You're doing very well, lads.
Very well, indeed.
Individually, you two are a pair of footballing clowns.
But when you work together, you're bloody lethal.
Keep it up.
Same goes for the rest of you.
Keep those tackles going in.
Might I interject?
Of course.
It's a wonderful performance, boys.
That said, this team that you've been playing so... effectively... they are the children of all those good people.
And without them, your stay in Windermere would have been impossible.
So perhaps--and this is merely a suggestion, Mr. Lawrence is your coach, of course, not I-- but perhaps you might consider not breaking anyone's legs in the second half?
In the spirit of friendship.
What do you think, Mr. Lawrence?
Aye.
It's a thought.
Excellent.
Well done.
Well, boys, whatever happens, I'm sure you'll do us proud.
He say we lose game?
No, no, no.
What I think he's saying is, sometimes it's less important to win badly than to lose well.
"Lose well?"
To achieve something bigger than winning a game of football.
You understand?
Go and tell your team.
(whistle blowing) (crowd yelling) MAN: Did you see that?
He just gave the ball away.
WOMAN: What's that about?
Is this a Jewish thing?
(motorcycle roaring) (crowd cheering) (motorcycle roaring in distance) (motorcycle engine revving) MALCOLM: I've got it!
(grunts) MAN: Excuse me!
(crowd falls silent) I'm looking for Salek Falinower.
Salek?
I was informed that Salek Falinower was staying here.
No, this can't be.
Salek!
Chiel?
(laughs) (both laugh) ♪ (Salek sobbing) (water lapping, insects chirping) WEISS: Bread is life.
None understand this better than you.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, Hamotzi lechem min haaretz.
ALL: Amen.
Thank you, Rabbi.
(chairs sliding and clattering) Ladies and gentlemen... Esteemed guest... After everything you've lost, no children deserve to be given the world more than you.
But when you leave here, don't expect anything.
Don't grab whatever you want from the world because you feel your suffering entitles you to it.
Earn your place in the world, as you have earned the friendships you've made here.
In Calgarth, you have forged a new family, with brothers and sisters who will be with you for the rest of your lives.
Take care of one another.
Be proud of who you are.
And what you've overcome.
And even if you struggle with the darkest of thoughts, be open to the wonders that life can offer.
Especially then.
To you, my dear children... L'chaim.
ALL: L'chaim!
(children laughing) ♪ (water ripples) AREK HERSH: I felt like living again.
More or less, everything opened up for me.
Um...
I started feeling like I'm a human being again.
That, that's what Windermere did to me.
CHAIM OLMER: The memories are absolutely indescribable.
After all the hardship and hunger and disease, the good things started in Windermere.
BEN HELFGOTT: It gave me a lot.
Because I made many friends.
This is the most important.
Because, because...
I was, I was not alone anymore.
SAM LASKIER: Windermere is my first home in England, which means that I've always got an allegiance to it.
I am a citizen of a state.
I am proud of it.
A lot, a lot.
When I show my British passport, I know who I am.
IKE ALTERMAN: First of all, we will forever be grateful for the British government for giving us the opportunity to go on with our lives.
Give us the opportunity to work here.
LASKIER: We could talk about the past, talk about our experiences more so than with anybody else.
Although we always have a little bit of a barney, as well.
(chuckles) HERSH: I'm a happy person.
And also...
I help, try to help my fellow human being as much as I can.
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