AllMovie

Though the WWII Nazi Holocaust continues to receive comprehensive media coverage and analysis, one aspect of the horror that has received less attention is the extent to which Hitler's minions wiped out rich and vital Jewish European communities and cultures over the trajectory of the war - a crisis most evident in such countries as Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and of course, Germany. With their documentary We Played Marbles, filmmakers Louise Palanker and Jennie Reinish hone in on Jewish survivors of those events, from the said countries, who are now residents of Santa Barbara, California. Though only children at the time of the crisis, the victims still harbor intense and unshakable memories of the calamities they endured prior to, and during, the war - calamities that included watching their beloved family members dragged off to be tortured and/or murdered. At the same time, the survivors reflect on the heroic individuals who helped save their own lives by giving them shelter, and provide insights into the remarkable inner qualities that enabled them to survive and begin anew, after experiencing the worst horrors conceivable.