Wunderkinder (ATOM Study Guide)

Hanna Reich (Brigitte Grothum), a concert violinist, is about to play a farewell concert. When she finishes rehearsal for the day, she receives an envelope containing pages of sheet music. As Hanna explains the significance of the envelope to her granddaughter Nina (Mathilda Adamik), the film takes the audience to Poltava, a small town in the Ukraine in 1941.

Jewish Ukranian children Abrascha Kaplan (Elin Kolev) and Larissa Brodsky (Imogen Burrell) are musical prodigies. Abrascha is a gifted violinist and Larissa is a piano virtuoso.

Hanna is diligent in her violin practice, but having seen Abrascha and Larissa perform, she is aware that she has much to learn. Hanna seeks them out and asks if she can play with them. At first, Abrascha and Larissa rebuff her request. They are about to embark on a concert tour to Moscow and Leningrad and do not have time for Hanna.

On their return to Poltava, Hanna's father Max Reich (Kai Wiesinger), keen to encourage the childrens' friendship and musical alliance, pays money to Abrascha's father, Samuel Kaplan (Mark Zak) so that Abrascha will visit their home and take lessons with Hanna. Larissa follows Abrascha and Irina Salomonowa (Gudrun Landgrebe) is also convinced to teach Hanna at the Reich home. The Reichs are German but Max's work as a brewer of beer has brought them to Poltava. Hanna's mother Helga (Catherine H. Flemming), a supporter of the Nazi Party, disapproves of Hanna's friendship with the Jewish childen. Abrascha and Larissa are at first suspicious of Hanna's privileged background, but soon come to accept her as a musician and a friend.

In the summer of 1941, German forces invade the Soviet Union, breaking a pact signed by Hitler and Stalin. Life in the small Ukrainian town is threatened. The three friends are suddenly on opposite sides. When the Nazis invade, the children's Jewish and German families must save each other. Initially, the two Jewish families provide shelter for the Reich family, and when the German Army reaches Poltava and begins deporting Jews, Max Reich tries to save the Kaplan and the Brodsky families.

When Hanna witnesses the death of Alexi (Michael Brandner), the foreman from her father's brewery, and Irina, she is so horrified that she loses her ability to speak. Unable to explain who she is, Hanna finds herself in a work group with other Jewish children. An officer recognises Hanna and she is sent home. The Kaplan and Brodsky families are apprehended and while Max does all he can, Colonel Schwartow (Konstantin Wecker) the commanding officer will only let Abrascha and Larissa remain in Poltava. He sets the prodigies to work in the fields, but sends their parents and siblings away to the camps.

Schwartow is passionate about classical music. He commands a concert performance to celebrate Heinrich Himmler's birthday. Hanna is still not well enough to play. Abrascha and Larissa take her place. They know that they are playing for their lives and can only hope that a perfect performance may save their families. Schwartow watches the children, waiting for an error. They are note-perfect, until Schwartow gives his complete attention to Larissa. Unnerved by Schwartow's scrutiny, Larissa begins to recall horrifying images of the suffering that she has witnessed and she falters. Schwartow has won.

Decades later, the story closes. Abrascha has found Hanna. Abrascha tells her what happened after the performance, that Larissa was killed, along with 200 other Jewish children from Poltava, and that he was sent to a camp but survived. Abrascha never played the violin again. Reunited, Hanna and Abrascha return to the lake to pay tribute to Larissa, their family members and their other friends who did not survive the persecution.

Curriculum Relevance:

Wunderkinder (2011) is a German feature film directed by Marcus Rosenmüller. Teachers may find the film relevant to units of work for junior and middle secondary students in the following VELS domains:

• English
• The Arts – Media and Music
• The Humanities – History, Physical, Personal and Social Learning