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‘Le Paradis', a hamlet in northern France not far from Dunkirk was the scene of a massacre - a war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division “Totenkopf”, on 27 May 1940 during the Battle of France, at a time when the British Expeditionary Force was attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region.
When British soldiers were captured and executed in May 1940, two of them miraculously escaped, saved by a young woman at the peril of her own life. She became known as “Madame Paradis”. According to the village elders, Paradis has always been haunted by the memory of this tragedy… Thanks to Arthur, a 94-year-old former English soldier who narrowly escaped the massacre, we discover the historical truth behind the event and the story of Madame Paradis and the two survivors.
They succeeded in bringing a high-ranking SS Officer to justice and brought out into the open what would prove to be the first Nazi war crime of WWII that was judged in court.
Festivals and Awards:
* 2016: Official selection FIGRA "Doc in the regions" (30/03 - 02/04/16, Le Touquet, france)
* 2015: Official selection "Foyle Film Festival (Derry), Nov. 18-22 - "LIM Awards Documentary Competition".