Franceska Mann — Ballerina and Holocaust Hero

Franceska Mann was a Polish Jewish ballet dancer who killed a Nazi guard at Auschwitz and became an instant legend. Commanded to undress on her way to the gas chamber, she performed a striptease dance for the Nazi guard, seized his gun, and shot him dead. Her brazen act inspired an uprising among other prisoners. The film Francesca, directed by Lina Chaplin, tells her inspiring story.

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VIEW THE TRAILER

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THE SCHEDULE

⇒ January 23-26, watch the film Francesca on your home device. A link will be provided to all who register.

⇒ Sunday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, tune into the program with our distinguished panel of speakers. A link will be provided to all who register.

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MEET THE SPEAKERS

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Daniela Reiss is the producer of the Israeli documentary film, Francesca. She has collaborated with some of Israel’s most respected documentary directors, including Lina Chaplin, Dror Moreh, Duki Dror, and others. Her production credits include In Secret, Underground Ballet, Eighty and Counting, and Voices from the Booth. As an archival researcher, she has contributed to critically acclaimed and internationally recognized films and series, including The Gatekeepers and The Human Factor (Dror Moreh), Lebanon and The Mossad series. Her meticulous approach to sourcing historical material has helped shape powerful narratives across a wide range of subjects, from Israeli diplomacy and security to dance, economy, and identity.

Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, left, headed the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem from 1982-2007. His books include The Path of the Righteous, Sheltering the Jews, Saving the Jews, Diplomat Heroes of the Holocaust, Saving One’s Own and Righteous or Not: The Honoring of Rescuers of Jews. He serves on the B’nai B’rith Commission to honor Jewish rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. He is also on the Board of the Sousa Mendes Foundation and, thanks to his efforts, there is now a square named for Aristides de Sousa Mendes in Jerusalem. He provided the list of 60 diplomat-rescuers honored by the US Congress in 2024 in the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act.

Matan Shefi, right, was born and raised in Israel and is a graduate of Hebrew University. He now lives as a researcher in Warsaw, working since 2013 at the Jewish Historical Institute (JHI a.k.a ŻIH) in the field of family and Jewish history. For over 8 years has he been researching with families, researchers and individuals – the history of Polish Jewish families. He is passionate about better understanding the life of Jews in Poland – now and then – for his own family and many others. Matan has taken part in researching for projects such as Franciszka Mannówna – a dancer From Warsaw to Auschwitz (film in production, Israel), Who’s afraid of Alice Miller (film, Switzerland, 2020) and Teraz 43. – finding the Warsaw landscape of today in Wartime pictures (book, Poland, 2018).

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Registration for this program will open at a later date.