On the eve of World War II, some 6,000 Jews lived in the town of Sokal, Poland. By the end of the war, only 30 had survived, half of them — including Moshe Maltz and various members of his family — thanks to one righteous Christian woman, Francisca Halamajowa.
Years later, Maltz's family discovered that he had kept a diary, in which he meticulously recorded the tragic events of those years. The diary not only chronicles how the Nazis carried out their “final solution” in the town of Sokal, once a bustling hub of Jewish life, but also provides daily accounts of the 20 months spent hidden in Mrs. Halamajowa's hayloft.
Who was Francisca Halamajowa, known by those she saved as “the Angel,” and what drove her to risk her life and save her Jewish neighbors? And where did Moshe Maltz find the strength, day after day, to post entries in his diary, while the world was going up in flames around him?
These are some of the questions that Maltz's granddaughter, Judy, began probing while working on this documentary.
On the Side of Angels focuses on two families caught up in the tragic events of the Holocaust — one Jewish and one Christian — and examines how these events continue to impact their lives today, reuniting them 65 years later on a journey back in time.
But time is ticking away … read more about contributions.
