CHRONICLE FROM WITZBURG

Two Brothers. Their Grandfather's Novel. A Path Out of War.

New Documentary by Damon Kardon (www.DamonKardon.com). Featuring the Art and Words of Si Lewen (www.SiLewen.com)

Chronicle From Witzburg

New Documentary by Damon Kardon/ Now in Post-Production

“Two Brothers. Their Grandfather’s Novel. A Path Out of War.”

Chronicle from Witzburg is a full-length documentary by Damon Kardon that traces the early life and artistic awakening of Si Lewen—an artist, immigrant, World War II veteran, and liberator of the Buchenwald concentration camp—whose work stands as a profound testament to memory, trauma, and the necessity of creative expression. Through Lewen’s paintings, illustrations, and writings, the film examines how art became a vital means for him to process the unspeakable realities of war and the Holocaust. Central to the documentary is Lewen’s haunting, unpublished novel Chronicle from Witzburg, a fictionalized account of life inside a concentration camp that blends imagination with lived experience.

Guided by Damon Kardon alongside his brother Mason Kardon and their mother, Nina Kardon, the film unfolds as both an investigation and a deeply personal journey. The Kardons explore how Lewen transformed historical reality into symbolic narrative, using art and literature to confront violence, dehumanization, and survival. As they delve into his body of work, the documentary reveals the porous boundary between fiction and truth, showing how Lewen’s creative world allowed him to articulate emotions and moral questions that history alone could not contain.

Drawing on their own backgrounds in theater, filmmaking, and music, Mason and Damon ultimately stage a live reading of Chronicle From Witzburg, bringing Lewen’s words into a contemporary performative space. This act becomes a bridge across generations—between witness and interpreter, past and present—illuminating how storytelling, performance, and art can carry memory forward. Chronicle From Witzburg is both a portrait of an artist shaped by history and a meditation on how creativity helps us endure, understand, and remember.

Subscribe Subscribed
- CHRONICLE FROM WITZBURG
- Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.