DG - Inheritance - PBS

Discussion Guide | InheritanceBackground InformationSeason21People Featured in InheritanceMONIKA HERTWIGBorn in 1945 (after the liberation of Camp Plaszow) and raisedin a small town in West Germany, Monika is the child of AmonGoeth and his mistress, Ruth Kalder. An infant when her fatherwas executed, Monika was raised by her mother and maternalgrandmother. She was told that like thousands of German men,her father had died in the war as a patriotic soldier. At age 11she finally discovered the truth, when her grandmotherexplained that her father was executed for his role in theextermination of Jews. Monika would not come to realize thefull power of that truth until she saw the 1993 Steven Spielbergfilm Schindler’s List, which featured the forced labor camp atMonika Hertwig, daughter of former Nazi commander, Amon Goeth.Photo courtesy of Don HoltzPlaszow and its sadistic commandant. By then, she wasmarried to Reinhard Hertwig and had raised her own child.After seeing a news documentary in which Helen Jonas, asurvivor of Plaszow, appeared, Hertwig decided to contact her.Now retired after working as a university administrator,Hertwig spends her time caring for her young grandson, David,and working to educate young people about the history of theHolocaust.© American Documentary, Inc.8