This prize-winning film documents the life of Ruth Gruber (1911-2016), an American photojournalist and writer who defied tradition in a career that spanned more than seven decades. The New York Times called her “a fearless chronicler of the Jewish struggle.” She escorted Holocaust refugees to America in 1944, covered the Nuremberg trials in 1946 and documented the Haganah ship Exodus in 1947. Her relationships with world leaders including Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and David Ben Gurion gave her a front-row seat to history. The film captures the drama of her long and extraordinary life as she lent her camera lens – and her heart – to refugees of war. An inspiring story of a life well-lived!
Psychologist Dr. Eva Fogelman will be in dialogue with Columbia University Film Professor Dr. Annette Insdorf about this moving documentary directed by Matej Minac. Nicholas Winton organized the rescue of 669 children just before the outbreak of WWII as part of the Kindertransport project. Winton kept silent about his exploits until his wife uncovered a suitcase in the attic full of documents and transport plans fifty years later. The psychological effects on the child survivors and the parents who let them go were profound. (more…)
Music has the unique power to transport an individual outside of the here and now. This event is a demonstration of that power. We will begin by watching the Oscar-winning short documentary film The Lady in Number 6 — Music Saved My Life (38 minutes) about the extraordinary life of concert pianist and Holocaust survivor Alice Herz Sommer. Then we will be treated to a musical response to this tender and touching film by singers Cantor Arianne Brown and Stephan Kirchgraber and composer/pianist Neely Bruce. Not to be missed!
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In the early 1930s, Hitler began firing Jewish musicians across Europe. Overcoming extraordinary obstacles, virtuoso violinist Bronislaw Huberman moved these great musicians to Palestine and formed a symphony that would become the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Orchestra of Exiles tells the gripping true story of how Huberman, with courage, resourcefulness and an entourage of allies, saved nearly 1000 Jews and guaranteed the survival of Europe’s musical heritage.
The Starfish is the touching true story of a German-Jewish boy whose life was forever altered at the age of 10, when his parents sent him and his two older sisters to Sweden to escape Nazi persecution, with the aid of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Meet Mark Hetfield, CEO of HIAS, who will be in dialogue with the filmmaker Tyler Gildin.
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This program is a birthday tribute to Aristides de Sousa Mendes, born on this date in 1885. It also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Sousa Mendes Foundation and the 80th anniversary of Sousa Mendes’s action. Join renowned Holocaust scholars Michael Berenbaum and Mordecai Paldiel for inspiring stories of four diplomat rescuers: Hiram Bingham of the United States, Georg Duckwitz of Germany, Carl Lutz of Switzerland, and Sousa Mendes of Portugal. Participants are invited to add their own tributes, that will be shared!
Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels was born of the tales that Marion Kreith told her daughter, co-director Judy Kreith, over the years. Marion escaped war-torn Europe as a young girl with her family, evading Nazi capture and crossing the Atlantic to a tropical paradise. In this film, her story mingles with the personal accounts of other refugees who recall their escape to Havana and the challenges they face in an exotic and unfamiliar land. With a stunning musical score of Jewish melodies and the pulsating music of Havana, the film merges the realities of two vastly different yet intermingled cultures, bringing this colorful and uplifting piece of history to light. (more…)
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War is an account of a daring rescue mission that occurred on the precipice of World War II. It tells the dramatic true story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, an American minister and his wife from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who left their children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed to a life-threatening mission in Europe. Over two dangerous years they helped to save scores of imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation across Europe. In 2006, Watstill and Martha Sharp were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
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From Israeli director Yael Katzir comes a glorious and uplifting story of rebirth and renewal after the Holocaust. Filmed on location in Southern Italy, Shores of Light tells the unknown true story of thousands of survivors who ended up in the region of Salento en route to what was then Palestine. Welcomed by the local population, which was economically poor but rich in human compassion, many of the refugees stayed, married and had children before eventually moving on to their intended destination. It was a time of healing with the promise of a future full of hope.
Dr. Feng Shan Ho was a Chinese diplomat stationed in Vienna during the time of Kristallnacht. Thanks to him, thousands of Jewish refugees were able to escape to Shanghai, where they found a safe haven. Feng Shan Ho was recognized in 2000 as Righteous Among the Nations. Together we will watch a 20-minute preview of the new PBS film Harbor from the Holocaust (2020, dir. Violet Du Feng). Then meet the diplomat’s daughter Manli Ho, a journalist, who will be in dialogue with Holocaust historian Dr. Mordecai Paldiel and Shanghai survivor Dr. Lotte Lustig Marcus. Representing programming partner WNET will be Ed Hersh, who will introduce the film.