The Search
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| - | The '''International Refugee Organization''' ('''IRO''') was an [[intergovernmental organization]] founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by [[World War II]]. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. In 1948, the treaty establishing the IRO formally entered into force and the IRO became a [[United Nations]] [[specialized agency]]. The IRO assumed most of the functions of the earlier [[United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration]]. In 1952, operations of the IRO ceased, and it was replaced by the Office of the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR). | + | '''''The Search''''' is a 1948 American film directed by [[Fred Zinnemann]] which tells the story of a young [[Auschwitz]] survivor and his mother who search for each other across post-World War II Europe. It stars [[Montgomery Clift]], [[Ivan Jandl]], [[Jarmila Novotná]] and [[Aline MacMahon]]. |
| - | The '''Constitution of the International Refugee Organization''', adopted by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] on 15 December 1946, is the founding document of the IRO. The constitution specified the organization's field of operations. Controversially, the constitution defined "persons of German ethnic origin" who had been expelled, or were to be expelled from their countries of birth into the postwar Germany, as individuals who would "not be the concern of the Organization." This excluded from its purview a group that exceeded in number all the other European displaced persons put together. Also, because of disagreements between the Western allies and the Soviet Union, the IRO only worked in areas controlled by Western armies of occupation. | + | Many scenes were shot amidst the actual ruins of post-war German cities, namely [[Ingolstadt]], [[Munich]], [[Nuremberg]], and [[Würzburg]]. Filming took place between June and November, 1947, initially on location in Germany, before the cast and crew went to a film studio in Zurich, Switzerland, to film the interior scenes. Although released in the United States in March, 1948, it was not released in Britain until May 1950. Its European premiere was held at the Empire cinema, Leicester Square, London, England, on November 2, 1949, in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] attended the premiere. |
| - | Twenty-six states became members of the IRO and it formally came into existence in 1948: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Republic of China, Chile, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Liberia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. The U.S. provided about 40% of the IRO's $155 million annual budget. The total contribution by the members for the five years of operation was around $400 million. It had rehabilitated around 10 million people during this time, out of 15 million people who were stranded in Europe. The IRO's first Director-General was William Hallam Tuck, succeeded by J. Donald Kingsley on 31 July 1949. | + | Jandl was given a special juvenile Academy Award for his performance. By the time this was announced, in March 1949, he had returned to his home in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and the communists had taken over the government. They would not allow Jandl to travel to the United States to collect the Oscar and the Golden Globe he had also received for his performance, so they had to be taken to him. The film's director, Fred Zinnemann, accepted the Oscar on Jandl's behalf at the Academy Awards ceremony. |
| - | IRO closed its operations on 31 January 1952 and after a liquidation period, went out of existence on 30 September 1953. By that time many of its responsibilities had been assumed by other agencies. Of particular importance was the [[Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees]], established in January 1951 as a part of the United Nations, and the [[Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration]] (originally PICMME), set up in December 1951. | + | ==Plot== |
| + | [[File:Montgomery_Clift_in_The_Search_trailer.jpg|thumb|Montgomery Clift in ''The Search'' trailer]] | ||
| + | In [[Allied-occupied Germany]] trains transport homeless children ([[Displaced Persons]] or DPs), under the care of Mrs. Murray and other [[United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration]] (UNRRA) workers, to a transit camp where they are fed and protected. The next morning UNRRA officials begin the challenging process of identifying the children and reuniting them with their surviving family. | ||
| - | ==Filmography== | + | A young boy named Karel responds "''Ich weiß nicht''" ("I don't know") to all questions. He grew up in a well-to-do Czech family. The Nazis deported his sister and their father, a physician, while Karel and his mother were sent to a [[Nazi concentration camp|concentration camp]]. Karel bears a tattoo, number A24328, and it is suggested that the A stands for [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]]. They were separated and, after the war, Karel survived by scavenging for food alongside other homeless children. |
| - | * ''[[The Search]]'' by [[Fred Zinnemann]] (1948): The IRO helped the producers to make this story about children refugees, in 1945 Germany. | + | |
| + | The next day the children are loaded into trucks and ambulances for transfer to other camps. The children in Karel's group are terrified at first because the Nazis often used ambulances to asphyxiate victims but eventually they enter the vehicle. During the trip the children panic at the smell of exhaust fumes. Karel's friend Raoul forces open the back door and children scatter in all directions. Karel and Raoul try to swim across a river to escape from UNRRA men. Raoul drowns but Karel hides in the reeds. | ||
| + | As it turns out Karel's mother, Mrs. Malik, is alive. In a parallel story she has been searching for her son. One camp she reaches appears at first to have a Karel Malik, but it turns out to be a Jewish boy who appropriated the name after it was unclaimed during a role call, fearing retribution if he was recognized as Jewish by his real name. Mrs. Malik continues her search, eventually reaching Mrs. Murray's camp, where she is told that her son has drowned. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Meanwhile Karel encounters Steve, an [[United States Army]] engineer, who cares for him. Because Karel cannot recall his name Steve calls him Jim. Steve teaches the boy English and begins the very long process to take the boy back with him to America. | ||
| + | |||
| + | When Karel sees another young boy interacting with his mother, he starts remembering his own mother and the place where he last saw her, through a fence in the concentration camp. He runs away one evening thinking that the fence is nearby. Karel finds a fence at a factory but cannot find his mother among the workers going home. Steve eventually finds Karel and tells him that his mother is dead, as he has reason to believe she was gassed when she arrived at Auschwitz. He also lets Karel know that he is trying to adopt him and take him to America to start a new life there. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mrs. Malik ends up working for Mrs. Murray at the UNRRA camp. After a while she resigns to resume her nearly hopeless search for Karel. Mrs. Murray begs her to stay because she is so good with the children. | ||
| + | |||
| + | That same day Steve takes the boy to the UNRRA camp before leaving for America. He hopes to send for the boy once the paperwork is completed. Mrs. Murray remembers the boy. Suspecting that Jim is Karel, she hurries to the train station to bring Mrs. Malik back, but her train has already left. Then she sees Karel's mother walking toward her with the latest trainload of displaced children. She saw them being unloaded from a train, changed her mind and decided to stay. | ||
| + | |||
| + | At the UNRRA camp Steve tells Karel to join the crowd of new arrivals. Mrs. Malik tells the children to follow her. Karel walks past neither recognizing the other at first. Then Mrs. Malik swings around and calls, "Karel!", the boy and his mother are reunited as Mrs. Murray and Steve look on. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Cast== | ||
| + | * [[Montgomery Clift]] as Ralph "Steve" Stevenson | ||
| + | * [[Aline MacMahon]] as Mrs. Murray | ||
| + | * [[Jarmila Novotná]] as Mrs. Hanna Malik | ||
| + | * [[Wendell Corey]] as Jerry Fisher | ||
| + | * [[Ivan Jandl]] as Karel Malik / "Jim" | ||
| + | * Mary Patton as Mrs. Fisher | ||
| + | * Ewart G. Morrison as Mr. Crookes | ||
| + | * William Rogers as Tom Fisher | ||
| + | * [[Leopold Borkowski]] as Joel Markowsky | ||
| + | * Claude Gambier as Raoul Dubois} | ||
| + | * Avigdor (Victor) Murik, as the children's teacher in the Jewish Orphans Scene | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Awards and nominations== | ||
| + | ===Academy Awards=== | ||
| + | ====Wins==== | ||
| + | * Special Juvenile [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] "for the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948 in ''The Search''" - Ivan Jandl | ||
| + | * [[Academy Award for Best Story|Best Story]] - [[Richard Schweizer]] and David Wechsler | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====Nominations==== | ||
| + | * [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] - [[Fred Zinnemann]] | ||
| + | * [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] - Montgomery Clift | ||
| + | * [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Writing, Screenplay]] - Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Other=== | ||
| + | * [[9th Venice International Film Festival]] special OCIC Commendation. The OCIC jury gave this commendation because "by its inspiration and its quality, this film contribues to spiritual progress and the development of human values". OCIC critic Johanes wrote that this film excelled in emotional power. | ||
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The Search is a 1948 American film directed by Fred Zinnemann which tells the story of a young Auschwitz survivor and his mother who search for each other across post-World War II Europe. It stars Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Jarmila Novotná and Aline MacMahon.
Many scenes were shot amidst the actual ruins of post-war German cities, namely Ingolstadt, Munich, Nuremberg, and Würzburg. Filming took place between June and November, 1947, initially on location in Germany, before the cast and crew went to a film studio in Zurich, Switzerland, to film the interior scenes. Although released in the United States in March, 1948, it was not released in Britain until May 1950. Its European premiere was held at the Empire cinema, Leicester Square, London, England, on November 2, 1949, in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Queen Mary attended the premiere.
Jandl was given a special juvenile Academy Award for his performance. By the time this was announced, in March 1949, he had returned to his home in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and the communists had taken over the government. They would not allow Jandl to travel to the United States to collect the Oscar and the Golden Globe he had also received for his performance, so they had to be taken to him. The film's director, Fred Zinnemann, accepted the Oscar on Jandl's behalf at the Academy Awards ceremony.
Contents |
Plot
thumb|Montgomery Clift in The Search trailer In Allied-occupied Germany trains transport homeless children (Displaced Persons or DPs), under the care of Mrs. Murray and other United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) workers, to a transit camp where they are fed and protected. The next morning UNRRA officials begin the challenging process of identifying the children and reuniting them with their surviving family.
A young boy named Karel responds "Ich weiß nicht" ("I don't know") to all questions. He grew up in a well-to-do Czech family. The Nazis deported his sister and their father, a physician, while Karel and his mother were sent to a concentration camp. Karel bears a tattoo, number A24328, and it is suggested that the A stands for Auschwitz. They were separated and, after the war, Karel survived by scavenging for food alongside other homeless children.
The next day the children are loaded into trucks and ambulances for transfer to other camps. The children in Karel's group are terrified at first because the Nazis often used ambulances to asphyxiate victims but eventually they enter the vehicle. During the trip the children panic at the smell of exhaust fumes. Karel's friend Raoul forces open the back door and children scatter in all directions. Karel and Raoul try to swim across a river to escape from UNRRA men. Raoul drowns but Karel hides in the reeds.
As it turns out Karel's mother, Mrs. Malik, is alive. In a parallel story she has been searching for her son. One camp she reaches appears at first to have a Karel Malik, but it turns out to be a Jewish boy who appropriated the name after it was unclaimed during a role call, fearing retribution if he was recognized as Jewish by his real name. Mrs. Malik continues her search, eventually reaching Mrs. Murray's camp, where she is told that her son has drowned.
Meanwhile Karel encounters Steve, an United States Army engineer, who cares for him. Because Karel cannot recall his name Steve calls him Jim. Steve teaches the boy English and begins the very long process to take the boy back with him to America.
When Karel sees another young boy interacting with his mother, he starts remembering his own mother and the place where he last saw her, through a fence in the concentration camp. He runs away one evening thinking that the fence is nearby. Karel finds a fence at a factory but cannot find his mother among the workers going home. Steve eventually finds Karel and tells him that his mother is dead, as he has reason to believe she was gassed when she arrived at Auschwitz. He also lets Karel know that he is trying to adopt him and take him to America to start a new life there.
Mrs. Malik ends up working for Mrs. Murray at the UNRRA camp. After a while she resigns to resume her nearly hopeless search for Karel. Mrs. Murray begs her to stay because she is so good with the children.
That same day Steve takes the boy to the UNRRA camp before leaving for America. He hopes to send for the boy once the paperwork is completed. Mrs. Murray remembers the boy. Suspecting that Jim is Karel, she hurries to the train station to bring Mrs. Malik back, but her train has already left. Then she sees Karel's mother walking toward her with the latest trainload of displaced children. She saw them being unloaded from a train, changed her mind and decided to stay.
At the UNRRA camp Steve tells Karel to join the crowd of new arrivals. Mrs. Malik tells the children to follow her. Karel walks past neither recognizing the other at first. Then Mrs. Malik swings around and calls, "Karel!", the boy and his mother are reunited as Mrs. Murray and Steve look on.
Cast
- Montgomery Clift as Ralph "Steve" Stevenson
- Aline MacMahon as Mrs. Murray
- Jarmila Novotná as Mrs. Hanna Malik
- Wendell Corey as Jerry Fisher
- Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik / "Jim"
- Mary Patton as Mrs. Fisher
- Ewart G. Morrison as Mr. Crookes
- William Rogers as Tom Fisher
- Leopold Borkowski as Joel Markowsky
- Claude Gambier as Raoul Dubois}
- Avigdor (Victor) Murik, as the children's teacher in the Jewish Orphans Scene
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
Wins
- Special Juvenile Academy Award "for the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948 in The Search" - Ivan Jandl
- Best Story - Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler
Nominations
- Best Director - Fred Zinnemann
- Best Actor in a Leading Role - Montgomery Clift
- Best Writing, Screenplay - Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler
Other
- 9th Venice International Film Festival special OCIC Commendation. The OCIC jury gave this commendation because "by its inspiration and its quality, this film contribues to spiritual progress and the development of human values". OCIC critic Johanes wrote that this film excelled in emotional power.
