Adele Kurzweil’s Suitcase

All that remains of Adele is a suitcase found on an attic in the small French town of Auvillar. Adele Kurzweil was born and raised in Graz and fled the Nazis aged 13, first to Switzerland and then to France where she was abducted and taken to Auschwitz. Here, she was murdered. Adele is not a fictional character. A memorial to her is set into a pavement in Graz. But the dates and facts don’t tell the whole story. What does it feel like being a teenage refugee? How does she experience the harassment and hardships, the short phases of peace and quiet, meeting people who are either friendly or hostile? And how does she experience what might turn out to be her first love? How much lust for life and happiness are possible in a life in exile?

Thilo Reffert and Manfred Theisen construct a portrait of a cheerful, strong-willed young woman who dreams of emigrating to America and training to become a fashion designer - and who is not as different to today’s teenagers as the black and white photos or jitttering film recordings from this period might suggest.