Hotel Meina

"Based on a book by Marco Nozza detailing the true events that occurred at Lake Maggiore, Northern Italy, in September 1943, Hotel Meina is the story of a group of 16 Italian-Greek Jews who were among holidaymakers at a luxury resort when Italy signed its armistice with the Allied Forces.

"Sudden joy that the war is over is quashed when an SS unit led by Commandant Krassler (Benjamin Sadler) marches in, takes over the Jewish owned hotel where they are staying and orders the Jews to be quartered on the fourth floor. The non-Jewish guests are allowed to continue their vacations and many do so rationalising that they have already paid and the war is over so surely everything will be all right. So begins a week of waiting and terror, peppered with brief moments of hope, and whilst an anti-Nazi sympathizer attempts to orchestrate an escape for the Jewish families, Krassler smilingly imposes his ruthless authority." (Italian Film Festival 2010)

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