Something Remains

SYNOPSIS

I never expected to find my family’s story in a German novel. But in 2016, I opened Something Remains, a work of historical fiction, and recognized nearly every Jewish character. They were my relatives—people I had grown up knowing, but whose past was never discussed. The novel was based on real events, researched by German high school students and written by their teacher, Inge Barth-Grozinger. She had assigned her class to investigate what happened to the last Jewish students at their school. That’s how Erich Levi, a cousin I’d never heard of, became the novel’s protagonist.

This discovery launched me into a deeply personal search for truth.

Something Remains is a microhistory that traces what happened to my Jewish family in Ellwangen, Germany—a rural town where they were the only Jews. For generations, they were respected cattle traders, fully integrated into the community. But between 1933 and 1938, trust gave way to betrayal as Nazi policies quietly stripped them of rights, dignity, and livelihood. When brownshirts drove their cattle into the river, it was the final blow. They weren’t sent to camps—but they were forced to leave. This lesser-known chapter of the Holocaust, before the gas chambers, is rarely told.

Years later, Erich returned as a U.S. soldier to arrest former Nazis and restore the desecrated Jewish cemetery where our ancestor was buried.

As I follow his path, I begin to understand my own. This is a story about silence, memory, and the echoes of history we’re still reckoning with.

Director Statement

The random discovery of an out-of-print novel changed my life. While making a montage for my mother’s 80th birthday, I stumbled upon a story—part fact, part fiction—about a Jewish boy growing up in Ellwangen, Germany, as Hitler rose to power. As I read, I realized the characters were my family—relatives I knew but never truly understood. I thought they left by choice. I now know they were forced out.

That novel, written by a local schoolteacher and inspired by her students’ research into the last Jews of their town, became a gateway. It catapulted me into a journey of uncovering the past—and in doing so, I found a living community in Ellwangen that remembers my family. I’ve been called not only to continue the story, but to claim it. To seek out the micro-histories, the emotional truths, and the lived details that only I can tell.

This film is personal, but its impact is universal. In an age of misinformation and erasure, personal stories matter more than ever. My search for understanding is also a call for others to look inward, to ask questions, and to recognize how history lives in us. This is my way of finding where I come from—and offering a lens for others to do the same.

- Carole Blueweiss

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Director Carole Blueweiss

Carole Blueweiss is an emerging independent documentary filmmaker with a background in public television. She co-produced and co-wrote Behind the Picket Fence, a cinéma vérité feature exploring domestic violence through the voices of survivors. She also co-produced the award-winning documentary This Might Hurt, which investigates the mind-body connection and chronic pain. In addition to filmmaking, Carole is a passionate photographer and host of the podcast Wisdom Shared, where she interviews people navigating life’s unexpected challenges. She thrives in collaborative environments and is driven by a deep interest in history, social justice, health, and sports.

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