From the unexpected offer to the Cannes triumph: the Jewish succession

The offer to star in a German series completely caught Mike Burstyn off guard. There he was, living a quiet life in Los Angeles, working as a dubbing director for Netflix and occasionally flying to Israel for acting gigs, when suddenly he found himself approached to play the lead role in a television production major.

“The creator/writer was looking for someone fluent in Yiddish and German, and that’s how he met me,” Burstyn said in an interview with the Journal. “Once my agent got the casting call, she immediately said, “Look no further. I have just the man you need.’

The story of “Die Zweiflers” takes place in 2015, in Frankfurt. Symcha Zweifler, a Holocaust survivor, wants to retire and pass on his business to his children and grandchildren. He invites them and tells them about his plans, but they are not interested in the charcuterie business. Symcha therefore decided to sell the company to a large German company. The story of the sale was published in the press, which brought in someone who had known him in his younger years. He threatens to expose Symcha’s past if Symcha doesn’t pay him.

The creator and showrunner of the series is David Hadda, himself the grandson of Holocaust survivors who chose to stay in Germany after the war. “David told Variety that if he hadn’t discovered me, the show might never have happened,” Burstyn said. “They scoured Germany looking for an actor who could authentically portray the character of a Holocaust survivor, but they couldn’t find one. Additionally, they needed someone fluent in Yiddish and German. It was as if the role was tailor-made for me.

There are many series and films that explore Germany’s Nazi history. Yet amid this sea of ​​content, few Germans easily remember a series that delves into the daily life of a Jewish family in contemporary Germany.

Burstyn believes the first season will spark discussions once it begins airing on May 1 in Germany. It is currently sold worldwide by ZDF Studios.

Burstyn was born in New York to Yiddish-speaking actors Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux. He began his acting journey alongside his twin sister in his parents’ productions at a young age. By seven o’clock, they were traveling the world, gracing Yiddish performance stages. While the family lived in South America, Burstyn mastered Spanish and Portuguese; in France, he perfected his French; and upon the family’s immigration to Israel in 1954, he learned Hebrew.

“During my theater years in Israel, I worked with German actors, which inspired me to also learn German. Working on the series gave me the opportunity to further refine my German skills, and now I speak it fluently,” he said. In total, the versatile actor is fluent in eight languages.

Reflecting on his unexpected role, Burstyn admitted it came as a complete surprise to him. At 78 years old, he never imagined landing the lead role in a German television series. He counts himself lucky, recognizing the transformative roles that have punctuated his career. “The first was “Two Kunilmel” in 1966 (in Israel), which changed my trajectory. People still remember it and say to me, “We grew up watching you.” » Then came Broadway in 1981, where I made history as the first Israeli actor to make headlines. Subsequently, I embarked on a three-year stint on Dutch television. In the midst of COVID-19, I was offered the chance to do voiceover work for Netflix. In 2017, I persuaded friends to invest in “Azimut”, my first film. I am a lucky man. Life surprises you when you least expect it.

“The show is like the American series Succession,” observed Burstyn, “with a patriarch at the helm and his children arguing. In the current climate, marked by the resurgence of anti-Semitism around the world, it is remarkable to see German television tackling a narrative centered on a Holocaust survivor. The Germans are the only ones who remain on our side when the whole world is against us.

Hadda submitted the series in competition to the Cannes Film Festival and it was accepted along with 7 other series out of 200 submitted from around the world. On April 10, Burstyn visited the festival, where the first two episodes premiered and received rave reviews from critics and audiences. To everyone’s greatest pleasure, the series received the prestigious award for Best TV Series at Canneseries.

Burstyn along with the actors, creator and director took the stage to the cheers of the audience. “I was carrying a silver ‘Bring Them Home Now’ disc,” Burstyn said. “It was important to me.”

Speaking to the audience, he expressed his gratitude to ARD and Degeto, the two companies behind the show, for their courage in bringing the story of a Holocaust survivor to German television. He then concluded his speech by saying: “Am Israel Chai.”

After leaving the stage, Burstyn was approached by local Jews who praised his words. “They discreetly revealed similar discs, some gold-plated, tucked into their shirts, expressing apprehension about wearing them openly as I did on stage,” Burstyn said. “They admitted they were just too scared to walk around France with them.”

Burstyn confessed that he always wondered why so many Polish children chose to stay in Germany after the war. After all, the Nazis had stripped them of everything: their families, their homes and their childhoods. Representing Symcha helped him better understand their point of view. His character was only ten years old when he left Auschwitz and arrived in Frankfurt. After the war, American soldiers transported surviving children from the camps to Germany, providing them with matches, cigarettes, chocolates, and nylon socks from their stockpiles. The children sold these items to the Germans to support themselves.

“In the 1960s and 1970s, they turned their attention to establishing brothels in Frankfurt and accumulated considerable wealth before turning to real estate investments,” Burstyn explained. “Today, half of the real estate in Frankfurt belongs to Jewish families. Starting in the 1960s, they began investing in real estate and hotels in Israel. »

This reflects Symcha’s journey and how he started his delicatessen business.

“These children capitalized on German post-war guilt. It was an opportunity to forge a new life in the very place where their oppressors had sought to destroy them. It was a proclamation of defiance: “Not only have you failed to eliminate us, but we will thrive here.” “We are survivors.”