Shattered: Journey into a Silent Past

A Film by Walter Wehmeyer

This is the story of two very different families and the store that connects them in

Aachen, Germany. This documentary features the story of Salem’s Britta Franz. It follows the fate of her and Marianne who were Jewish in Germany in 1937. As two sisters, 9 and 12, they were forced to flee the town of Aachen. Their father, Curt Lion, owned a beautiful clothing store and sold it to the filmmaker’s grandfather. The filmmaker takes you back with Britta and Marianne as they travel back to visit their old family store and piece together the traces of their relatives who didn’t survive escaping the Nazis.

Britta, a longtime Salem resident, business owner and civic leader will be there to introduce the film and have a Q & A session afterwards.  She will have DVDs of the film available to purchase for $20 each.  We are honored to be bringing you this program.