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Symphony of Courage
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
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Symphony of Courage from filmmaker Beth Mendelson shines a light on Portugal as a safe haven once again for fleeing refugees. It tells the story of the evacuation of the students of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) following the Taliban takeover, after music was outlawed. ANIM’s director Dr. Ahmad Sarmast worked with an international team of philanthropists, politicians, and musicians to facilitate their rescue to Lisbon — their new home, where they can play music once again in a free and open society.
A Voice Among the Silent — The Legacy of James G. McDonald
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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A Voice Among the Silent is the first film to shine a light on James G. McDonald’s efforts to warn the US government of Hitler’s plan for the Jews. The son of Catholic immigrants, he was one of the first Americans to meet face-to-face with Hitler in 1933. This frightening encounter changed his life and plunged him into the effort to rescue Jews. Later, he was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Israel, and in this role he helped shape US policy and aid towards Israel for generations to come.
Marcel Marceau and the French Resistance
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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The great French mime Marcel Marceau was the son of a kosher butcher who was murdered at Auschwitz. Following his father’s deportation, Marcel joined the French Resistance, assisting his cousin Georges Loinger in escorting Jewish children from Nazi-occupied France to neutral Switzerland. He used his artistry and charisma to engage with the children and keep them quiet during their long and perilous trek to freedom. Later he gave his first major performance to 3000 US troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944.
The Waldheim Waltz
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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Ruth Beckermann‘s film The Waldheim Waltz is about truth, lies and how a dishonest man can rise to power. The film documents the process of uncovering former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim’s wartime past. It shows the swift succession of new allegations by the World Jewish Congress during his Austrian presidential campaign, the denial by the Austrian political class, the outbreak of anti-Semitism and patriotism, which finally led to his election. Created from international archive material and what Beckermann shot at the time, the film shows that history repeats itself time and time again. Winner of the Berlin International Film Festival.
A Protest to the World: The Dramatic Story of Szmul Artur Zygielbojm
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
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Szmul Artur Zygielbojm was a Polish Jewish socialist politician and member of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London during World War II. A lifelong activist, he is most famous for his final act of protest to the world against the indifference of the Allies to the fate of Europe’s Jews. In this richly multimedia and life-affirming film-and-discussion program, Dr. Jud Newborn interweaves his thrilling discovery of Zygielbojm’s lost artifacts with an elegy to the lost world of the Jewish shtetl.
Remembrance in Germany Today — Stories of Hope
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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Nowadays, 90 years after Hitler seized power, Germany has a vibrant remembrance culture aimed at raising public consciousness about the crimes of the past and the importance of standing up against bigotry and in support of democracy. Much of the most meaningful work is being done by unsung volunteers in towns and villages across the country.
Into the Arms of Strangers
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
This prizewinning film tells the touching and heartwarming stories of Jewish children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia saved in England in 1938-39 under the Kindertransport program, prior to the onset of World War II.
Besa — The Promise
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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This is the true story of an American photographer determined to record the bravery and compassion of Albanians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. It is also the story of an Albanian Muslim who must fulfill a promise his father made to the Jewish family they sheltered. Their meeting sets in motion an extraordinary and unexpected drama that bridges generations and religions … uniting fathers and sons, Muslims and Jews.
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Sally Noach — The Angel of Lyon
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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This program tells the story of the Jewish hero Salomon “Sally” Noach, who is remembered as the “angel” of the city of Lyon, France. He acted at great personal risk to rescue Jews who had been already captured by the Gestapo. See a new film about him that will touch your heart, and then meet his son along with one of the people that he saved.
Wilfrid Israel, Holocaust Hero
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
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Wilfrid Israel, a Berlin department store magnate and art collector, was German Jewry’s “secret ambassador” to England from 1938-43. He worked with the British diplomat/spy Frank Foley, Righteous Among the Nations, to secure life-saving British visas for thousands of German Jews and was the “essential link” in the establishment of the Kindertransport operation. He also was a key benefactor of the Youth Aliyah movement and was a co-founder of Kibbutz Hazorea. Time and again, he had opportunities to remain safe in England or Palestine, and yet he kept going back to Germany to rescue more Jews. On his last rescue mission, Wilfrid Israel was shot down by the Wehrmacht over the English channel. Albert Einstein said of the businessman, “Never in my life have I come in contact with a being so noble, so strong and as selfless as Wilfrid Israel.” A fascinating and multilayered life! (more…)