The past always finds you – even if you’re “The German.”
“In my experience, you can’t ignore the past. You can hide it and lie about it, but it will always haunt you, you know?,” says Ronit Weiss Berkowitz, who co-created Lionsgate’s show with Moshe Zonder – known for “Fauda” – and producer Assaf Gil.
It certainly haunts Uri (Oliver Masucci), a family man and Holocaust survivor recruited by Mossad for a mission in Germany.
“He never wanted to speak about his past. He thought all we have to do is look forward to the future and forget what we have gone through,” adds Weiss Berkowitz, also behind Netflix’s “The Girl from Oslo”. Her parents – just like Zonder’s – were survivors as well.
“As a child, I had a father who was silent. He would never talk about it – my mother never stopped.” Zonder’s mother “never spoke about it at home.”
“On the Holocaust Day, she would be in the kitchen, doors shut. I felt it all as a child, even if I didn’t know all the details. She’s 93 years old now. She really started to talk about it when she turned 80.”
In the show, it’s Uri’s teenage daughter who wants to finally heal the family by addressing the very thing they refuse to discuss. But Uri might have other reasons for staying mum about his earlier years, and well-meaning wife (Ania Bukstein) accidentally comes one step closer to finding out why.
According to Weiss Berkowitz, Masucci “didn’t know a word in Hebrew” before taking on the role. “And he speaks it fluently in the show! He really learned this language and I think he did a tremendous job.”
Last year, German actor came to Series Mania with “Herrhausen – The Banker and the Bomb,” which ultimately picked up an award for best writing. With “Dark” and “The Swarm” under his belt, he will soon be spotted in “King and Conqueror.”
Directed by Gabriel Bibliowicz – “a real professional with a huge heart,” says Zonder – “The German” isn’t a “Holocaust series,” insists Gil, who also produced the show for Gil Formats. Even despite its WWII background.
“It challenges how the Holocaust is being shown; it talks about it in a different way. But it’s hard to define it, because it’s a thriller, a spy story and a family drama.”
The team started working on it 10 years ago.
“During that decade we’ve mentioned to each other, more than a few times, that it’s good that we are doing it – to remind people about [the Holocaust]. But we hope they can relate to it all over the globe, no matter which culture they come from. Sometimes you just cannot escape the things you’ve done,” notes Zonder.
Uri isn’t the only one hiding things, however. So is his family going to survive all the revelations finally coming to light?
“It’s going to be quite an earthquake. This is the only spoiler I can share: at the end of this season, you are not sure how this will impact the family,” teases Gil.
“We hope to clear it up in Season 2,” adds Weiss Berkowitz.
