Video Review - `The Little Austrian' Leopold Engleitner, a Holocaust Survivor

This video commences with the striking image of an elderly man sitting on
a park bench holding up a placard. Passers-by half glance in his direction, curious, but unsure how to react.

This video answers their questions. It is the story of Leopold Engleitner who was born in Austria in the early 20th century. This film is an important archive and Leopold's story is compelling. We follow his horrific experience of the First World War and the dreadful aftermath. We hear how his experiences take him out of the Catholic Church and, in 1932, bring him to baptism into the Jehovah's Witness movement.

In 1939 he and fellow witnesses were arrested by the Gestapo. His story
offers us an individual's path through the maze of hatred and persecution which Jehovah's Witnesses met at the hands of the Nazis. Leopold like so many of the Witnesses was taken to Buchenwald. We learn what life was like in the camp for him and others. The story is one of unthinkable torture and brutality. In 1941 Leopold was moved to Niedenhagen concentration camp to work on the construction of an SS HQ and later to Ravensbruck. What is so striking as the narrative progresses and Leopold tells us his story is that his face is full of peace in spite of the horrors of his terrible experience.

The story of how the Jehovah's Witnesses stood firm against the horror
of the Nazi regime is important for all of us, whether we share the faith of the Witnesses or not. The video tells it well - with careful attention to historical detail without ever losing the feel of a story well told. It is a compelling and important record.

Had those people who passed Leopold by as he sat on the park benches
but known, they would have stopped and asked. We are more fortunate -
this film answers our questions and leaves the viewer moved.

Professor Christine E. King, DL
Staffordshire University; Author of the book "The Nazi State and the New Religions: Five Case Studies in Non-Conformity"