During the past three decades, many historical documentaries have recounted the Battle of Normandy, primarily through reconstruction of the battlefield. But no film has explored its actual impact on US orphans.
“Finding Fathers” is the first in-depth look at their struggle to overcome the loss of a parent they never knew, told from their unique perspectives, with their own words and seen through their own eyes. This documentary provides personal insight into the little known legacy of D- Day.
406 000 US soldiers died during WWII and they left an estimated 183 000 children fatherless. Most of them never knew their fathers and are in their mid-sixties today.
Overcoming this loss was harder as they matured and got older. They all expressed the need to know more about their fathers at some point of their lives. Especially because their mothers and grandparents did not speak about their dead fathers, as it was a painful chapter of their past.
We hear from:
• HARRY STRAHLENDORF, who was born two months after his father’s death. He started what he called his “Quest” in 1989 and traveled to France for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Harry discovered that his Dad was considered as a liberator there: a square and a stele were inaugurated on his name. He lives in Philadelphia, in a house with a room dedicated to his father. The viewer is invited to enter his environment in order to understand the important value of this quest for him.
• ANNE SNYDER, who was only a few weeks old when her father left the US for England and then France, where he died. She started her quest a few years ago, helped by a passionate French member of an association called “Flowers of Memory” (Les Fleurs de la Mémoire). She traveled to Normandy last August. She wanted to walk into her father’s footsteps in order to be “a whole person”. Anne also welcomes us in her house in Richmond, Virginia, before that trip. She loves wearing a T-shirt with the crossed flags of France and the United States: “Two flags, One heart”. She considers herself as both American and French.
• MAXINE GRAHAM OLSON, who lost her father while her mother was pregnant with her. A passionate in Normandy found a picture of Maxine’s father. He spent six years to research about this soldier and his family. He finally discovered the existence of Maxine and contacted in December 2009. Maxine was at first reluctant as she had always suffered from this loss, especially since her mother refused to speak to her about the father she never knew. She is mentally affected by this loss and has developed emotional and psychological traumas. But she travelled for the first time to Normandy, last August, where a ceremony was held for her father. She also flied the road of her father’s last mission. The viewers will enter her sensitivity and realize how important places matter for our memory and the construction of our identity.
This documentary raises a deeper issue, which concerns all of us: the relation between memory and history, places and identity. Many of the orphans from the Battle of Normandy’s regret that very little is done in the United States to honor and preserve the memory of their fathers. Sadly, the 1973 fire in the St Louis National archives destroyed most of the information involving World War II veterans. Thus, the best means to overcome such a loss is to travel to Normandy, in order to see, experience and feel the place where their fathers died.
Paradoxically, the U.S. orphans feel that they have more in common with the Normandy people than with most people in the United States. They are amazed by what is done for their fathers and the American troops. The memory of the 1944 landing is still very present in Normandy, even if it happened more than 65 years ago, while Americans are not fully aware of it unless they travel there. It breaks the cliché about French and anti-Americanism, and reveals an unsuspected aspect of their fraught relationship. It is something that you can also notice through the diplomatic relations between the two countries: the American cemetery has always been the core place of the French-American relationship, with the visits of several presidents of the United States.
The film is build like a search for identity, following the quest of the three main characters by presenting the obstacles they face and using them as turning points in the plot. The gradual revelation of true characters adds dimension and surprise, as well as pique the viewers’ interest in their searches. The beginning of the film in the United States sets the first outer conflicts Harry, Anne and Maxine faced, while we will progress toward their inner conflicts as the documentary moves on. The audience will feel more involved in the inner world of the characters’ minds. A soundtrack also strengthens the sequences. Music essentially composed by piano adds drama and realism to the overall documentary. Moments of silence are also preserved.
The main storytellers of the documentary are the orphans themselves. Their words set the tone and propel the story forward. Black cards give viewers information when necessary. Archival pictures of their fathers and documents also complete the footage. Following them into their houses, with all their memorabilia, but also on their way and first trip to the soil where the fathers they never knew died communicates their highly emotional and moving experiences.
“Finding Fathers” is the first in-depth look at their struggle to overcome the loss of a parent they never knew, told from their unique perspectives, with their own words and seen through their own eyes. This documentary provides personal insight into the little known legacy of D- Day.
406 000 US soldiers died during WWII and they left an estimated 183 000 children fatherless. Most of them never knew their fathers and are in their mid-sixties today.
Overcoming this loss was harder as they matured and got older. They all expressed the need to know more about their fathers at some point of their lives. Especially because their mothers and grandparents did not speak about their dead fathers, as it was a painful chapter of their past.
We hear from:
• HARRY STRAHLENDORF, who was born two months after his father’s death. He started what he called his “Quest” in 1989 and traveled to France for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Harry discovered that his Dad was considered as a liberator there: a square and a stele were inaugurated on his name. He lives in Philadelphia, in a house with a room dedicated to his father. The viewer is invited to enter his environment in order to understand the important value of this quest for him.
• ANNE SNYDER, who was only a few weeks old when her father left the US for England and then France, where he died. She started her quest a few years ago, helped by a passionate French member of an association called “Flowers of Memory” (Les Fleurs de la Mémoire). She traveled to Normandy last August. She wanted to walk into her father’s footsteps in order to be “a whole person”. Anne also welcomes us in her house in Richmond, Virginia, before that trip. She loves wearing a T-shirt with the crossed flags of France and the United States: “Two flags, One heart”. She considers herself as both American and French.
• MAXINE GRAHAM OLSON, who lost her father while her mother was pregnant with her. A passionate in Normandy found a picture of Maxine’s father. He spent six years to research about this soldier and his family. He finally discovered the existence of Maxine and contacted in December 2009. Maxine was at first reluctant as she had always suffered from this loss, especially since her mother refused to speak to her about the father she never knew. She is mentally affected by this loss and has developed emotional and psychological traumas. But she travelled for the first time to Normandy, last August, where a ceremony was held for her father. She also flied the road of her father’s last mission. The viewers will enter her sensitivity and realize how important places matter for our memory and the construction of our identity.
This documentary raises a deeper issue, which concerns all of us: the relation between memory and history, places and identity. Many of the orphans from the Battle of Normandy’s regret that very little is done in the United States to honor and preserve the memory of their fathers. Sadly, the 1973 fire in the St Louis National archives destroyed most of the information involving World War II veterans. Thus, the best means to overcome such a loss is to travel to Normandy, in order to see, experience and feel the place where their fathers died.
Paradoxically, the U.S. orphans feel that they have more in common with the Normandy people than with most people in the United States. They are amazed by what is done for their fathers and the American troops. The memory of the 1944 landing is still very present in Normandy, even if it happened more than 65 years ago, while Americans are not fully aware of it unless they travel there. It breaks the cliché about French and anti-Americanism, and reveals an unsuspected aspect of their fraught relationship. It is something that you can also notice through the diplomatic relations between the two countries: the American cemetery has always been the core place of the French-American relationship, with the visits of several presidents of the United States.
The film is build like a search for identity, following the quest of the three main characters by presenting the obstacles they face and using them as turning points in the plot. The gradual revelation of true characters adds dimension and surprise, as well as pique the viewers’ interest in their searches. The beginning of the film in the United States sets the first outer conflicts Harry, Anne and Maxine faced, while we will progress toward their inner conflicts as the documentary moves on. The audience will feel more involved in the inner world of the characters’ minds. A soundtrack also strengthens the sequences. Music essentially composed by piano adds drama and realism to the overall documentary. Moments of silence are also preserved.
The main storytellers of the documentary are the orphans themselves. Their words set the tone and propel the story forward. Black cards give viewers information when necessary. Archival pictures of their fathers and documents also complete the footage. Following them into their houses, with all their memorabilia, but also on their way and first trip to the soil where the fathers they never knew died communicates their highly emotional and moving experiences.
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