Stefan Lux(1888-1936)
- Director
Stefan Lux was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was a Slovak (later on Czech citizen) writer, journalist, theater actor, film director and an activist who sacrificed himself for a greater cause yet no one paid attention and millions of people would suffer major consequences if they had listened to what he had to say. Lux will be remembered for his act of defiance in speaking against the Nazi Germany and its persecution on the Jewish people back in 1936, an alarming case of anti-semiti pre-World War II with the world either keeping quiet about the issue or not knowing the full extent of such facts.
On 3 July 1936, during the League of Nations convention in Geneva, Stefan Lux stormed through the room, interrupted the meeting and spread leaflets while protesting about the on-going rampant anti-semitism and prejudice faced by the Jewish community in Europe. The attendees weren't paying much attention until Lux pulls out a revolver and say "This is the final blow", committing suicide in front of the whole crowd. An act of self-immolation to provide a wider attention to the cause of saving lives and warning Europe about the dangers the German nationalism was causing on foreigners or people of different backgrounds and religion. His act was a shock for those who saw it and criticized by many as being a cowardice act since one could point out all the same arguments he was doing without taking their own lives. But story would be different had those witnesses make a case on what they heard and what they witnessed...but to no avail: after 1936, World War II broke in 1939 until 1945 and in between that period millions of people from all around the world suffered the consequences, dying in the trenches, concentration camps or several other forms.
As for Lux in the cinema community, his only film credit is the movie Gerechtigkeit (1920) of which he directed.
The acclaimed film Amen. (2002) recreates that fateful moment of his suicide right on its opening scenes.
On 3 July 1936, during the League of Nations convention in Geneva, Stefan Lux stormed through the room, interrupted the meeting and spread leaflets while protesting about the on-going rampant anti-semitism and prejudice faced by the Jewish community in Europe. The attendees weren't paying much attention until Lux pulls out a revolver and say "This is the final blow", committing suicide in front of the whole crowd. An act of self-immolation to provide a wider attention to the cause of saving lives and warning Europe about the dangers the German nationalism was causing on foreigners or people of different backgrounds and religion. His act was a shock for those who saw it and criticized by many as being a cowardice act since one could point out all the same arguments he was doing without taking their own lives. But story would be different had those witnesses make a case on what they heard and what they witnessed...but to no avail: after 1936, World War II broke in 1939 until 1945 and in between that period millions of people from all around the world suffered the consequences, dying in the trenches, concentration camps or several other forms.
As for Lux in the cinema community, his only film credit is the movie Gerechtigkeit (1920) of which he directed.
The acclaimed film Amen. (2002) recreates that fateful moment of his suicide right on its opening scenes.
