203 Sprawiedliwych

Overview

A recollection of events that took place in the village of Michniów near Kielce during the Nazi occupation. A military police unit commanded by Meier carried out a pacification of Michniów in retaliation for the blowing up of a train carrying Germans. The film's shocking message is reinforced by its formal aspects. The villagers who managed to survive talk about the tragedy today in the form of a prayer, begging God to remember those who were murdered. They list their names, first names, and the circumstances in which they died - tortured, tormented, burned in a barn. "There were 203 of them, remember... So remember Meier... Find him, wherever he is hiding... and bring him to justice..." The mournfully black screen is only partially filled with shots of people praying and photos of the murdered.