A Jewish boy survived the Holocaust by masquerading as a Hitler Youth member

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 1990 film Europa Europa tells the true, harrowing story of Solomon Perel, who escaped Nazi persecution by hiding in plain sight. By assuming a false identity as an ethnic German, he navigated the front lines of World War II, eventually landing in an elite Nazi academy while concealing his secret.

Directed by Agnieszka Holland, Europa Europa is based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel. The narrative follows young Solomon, known as Solek, as he flees Nazi-occupied Poland for the Soviet Union, only to be captured during the German invasion. To survive, he adopts the persona of Josef Peters, a Volksdeutscher from Grodno. His fluency in German and Russian makes him an invaluable interpreter for his captors, allowing him to survive while his family is imprisoned and eventually killed in the Łódź Ghetto.

The film is noted for its complex tone, blending suspense with dark irony. Solek’s survival requires constant, high-stakes deception, including hiding his circumcision and navigating the ideological indoctrination of a Hitler Youth Academy. Critics like Michael Wilmington and Hal Hinson praised Holland for avoiding a purely dour approach, instead capturing the absurd and tragic nature of Solek’s shape-shifting existence. However, the film’s unconventional use of black comedy sparked controversy, particularly in Germany, where the national export committee famously refused to submit it for an Academy Award, reportedly calling it an embarrassment.

Despite being snubbed by the German selection committee, the film achieved significant international acclaim, winning a Golden Globe and earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. It remains a powerful exploration of identity and the extreme compromises forced by war. The real Solomon Perel appears in the film’s finale, grounding the narrative in the reality of his survival. Today, the film is recognized as a critical and commercial success, standing as the second most successful German film in the United States after 1981's Das Boot.

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