Characters and Insights
The characters of "Per un Nuovo Domani" all correspond to people who really existed in Castiglione di Garfagnana during World War II. Some have managed to escape the terrible fate that awaited them but unfortunately, not all have succeeded. In this article, you will discover more information about the main characters of the Docufiction.
Israel Meier (Neri Marcorè) born in 1901 in present-day Poland had moved to Pisa in the 1930s to complete studies in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and specialize himself in Pediatrics, and there he married Paulina Langnas (Giorgia Guerra), who also moved to Italy to study medicine.
Sent in 1941 to free internment with Paulina and her sister in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, thanks to his ability to deal with others, he soon became the reference point for the small community. In spite of the prohibitions, he offers to carry out in secret the activity of doctor for the whole village, saving the life of the Marshal of the Carabinieri's son. An episode that will save his, his wife Paulina and his sister-in-law's life when, after November 30th 1943, the situation for the Jews becomes dramatic: the Marshal himself urges him to flee. After a year of travel, hunger, cold, makeshift hiding places and fear, Meier, with his wife Paulina and her sister, manages to reach Versilia and embrace the Allies who were gradually freeing those lands.
Walter Frankl (Gianluca Bottoni) is an architect of Viennese origins and is the older brother of the famous neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, one of the founders of logotherapy. He draws suggestive views of Castelnuovo that he then sells to supplement the low subsidy. Some of his drawings are still displayed in the restaurants of Castelnuovo.
Leonard Kienwald (Leonardo Caneva), son of a well-known tailor from Bolzano originally from Galicia, is 20 years old when he is sent with his family to Castelnuovo Garfagnana. However, at the beginning he tolerated internment: he was granted the necessary permits to continue his studies in Padua, and in Castelnuovo he met Elisabeth Berndt (Elena Meoni), Viennese, who is also interned with her mother. She also becomes teacher in the little improvised school. Between the two grows a tender love story, destined for a tragic ending. While the Kienwalds decide to flee into the woods, Leonard fails to convince Elisabeth to follow him: she will be deported and killed on her arrival at Auschwitz.
Henia Feintuch (Flavia Comi), eighteen years old of Polish origins, is sent with her siblings and parents to a seedy room deprived of everything. In Castelnuovo, Henia takes care of the self-managed school and also improvises a small button factory to supplement the low subsidy. In 1942 her boyfriend joins her. Leo Verderber (Marco Pratesi) was previously interned in the camp of Ferramonti di Tarsia, he had obtained the transfer to Castelnuovo to be reunited with her. The two got married, it has been a miserable ceremony but at the same time the happiest event for the Jewish community since the beginning of internment. A few months later, Leo is deported, along with Henia, her family and the other Jews of Castelnuovo, to the extermination camp of Auschwitz, from which only he and Lotte Wallach will return. The only two survivors of the Jews of Castelnuovo from the extermination camp.
Gerda Schnapp (Sofia Graiani) is a beautiful 15-year-old girl of Polish origins, who kidnaps the hearts of many local boys, including "The Count", who became very fond of her. She was staying in the farmhouse of the Papi family with her parents (Francesca Nunzi and Henri Vaisse), just outside the village. Gerda makes an affectionate friendship with their little daughter Vilma. The Schnapps decide not to show up on the morning of the convocation, hoping to be forgotten. An anonymous report will however expose them, condemning them to death. Vilma witnesses from the window the dramatic scene of their capture by the republics: a scene that will mark her forever.
Clara Ventura (Julia Messina) is a teacher of Pisa and a contact between the DELASEM of Giorgio Nissim and the Jewish community of Castelnuovo. She was sent to Castelnuovo as a teacher for the improvised school and to exchange clandestine messages between the DELASEM and Meier, which did not pass to the scrutiny of censorship.
The Marshal of the Carabinieri (Luigi Pisani), is a young marshal stationed in Castelnuovo. He reluctantly accepted the degradation of fascist power and racial laws, but he is a man of state and his task is to obey his Commander (Paolo Giommarelli) and enforce the laws. When the Jewish community arrived in Castelnuovo in forced internment and under a series of obligations and prohibitions, the Marshal promotes solidarity and acceptance from the inhabitants of Castelnuovo and tries to turn a blind eye to the not respected prohibitions by the Jewish community, taking the wrath of his boss. When the order to summon the Jews to the barracks arrives, he realizes the terrible fate that awaits them. So, taking a huge risk and also out of gratitude for having saved his son, he decides to warn Meier not to surrender to the authorities and run away.
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