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The Egyptian Doctor Named Righteous Among the Nations
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
The documentary film Anna and the Egyptian Doctor tells the extraordinary story of Dr. Mohamed Helmy, who rescued a Jewish teenager in Berlin by disguising her as his Muslim assistant. He is the first and only Arab to be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, but his family refused to accept the award for decades out of fear of reprisal. Helmy’s nephew, Dr. Nasser Kotby, who finally accepted the award over his family’s objections, is the first Arab Muslim to commemorate the Holocaust on film. Anna and the Egyptian Doctor presents a story that transcends the boundaries of time, religion, and politics.
Heroes of the Jewish Resistance
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
Paula Apsell‘s stunning new documentary film, Resistance – They Fought Back, will be the basis of this film-and-discussion program. This groundbreaking film uncovers a deeper and fuller story than has yet been told, using cutting edge techniques of documentation, including forensic archeological investigation. Meet the filmmaker and two of the people interviewed in the film, Dr. Steven Meed and Prof. Yoel Yaari, whose mothers were the real-life heroes Vladka Meed and Bela Hazan. Dr. Jud Newborn, a leading world authority on Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, will moderate.
Sousa Mendes Museum Virtual Tour
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
The Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum is open! Please join us for this behind-the-scenes look at the exciting new museum in Portugal devoted to the Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes. This program comes with the rare opportunity to view the film Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story free of charge!
Max’s War — The Story of a Ritchie Boy
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
Max’s War tells the story of one man’s decision to fight back against Hitler. As the Nazis conquer Europe, Jewish teen Max Steiner and his parents flee German persecution to Holland, where Max finds true friends and a life-altering romance. But when Hitler invades in 1940, Max escapes to Chicago, leaving his parents and friends behind. When he learns of his parents’ murder, Max immediately enlists in the US Army.
“We were the lucky ones” — The Psychology of Kindertransport Survivors
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
Into the darkness of the Holocaust it is important to add true tales that are life affirming. My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering the Kindertransports was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was short-listed for an Academy Award nomination. This film, by Melissa Hacker, focuses on the psychology of the child survivors and the transmission of memory from one generation to the next. The filmmaker’s mother, the Academy Award nominated costume designer Ruth Morley (Taxi Driver, Annie Hall, The Hustler, The Miracle Worker, Tootsie, and many more classic American movies) fled Vienna on a Kindertransport in January of 1939. She is a strong presence in the film talking about her experiences alongside other former child refugees.
The Paper Brigade — Cultural Resistance in Vilna
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
This film-and-discussion program tells the story of the cultural resistance group in Vilna known as “The Paper Brigade.” Led by the famed Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever, they risked their lives to rescue the cultural and literary heritage of the Jewish community in the “Jerusalem of Lithuania.”
The Zookeeper’s Wife
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
Jan and Antonina Zabinski were the managers of the Warsaw Zoo. There, thanks to their efforts, 300 Jewish men, women, and children were hidden in animal cages and in their home from 1939 to 1945. This remarkable couple was named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. On the panel will be Diane Ackerman, author of the bestselling book The Zookeeper’s Wife, filmmaker Slawomir Grunberg and Stefania Sitbon, a living witness to this story.
Royals at War
1 PM LOS ANGELES • 4 PM NEW YORK
This program examines the actions of the royal families of Europe during the Holocaust. The film Royals at War is in two episodes, both of which will be available to all who register.
Here Lived…
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
Photography as Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris
11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK
In a remarkable discovery, an album containing clandestine unsigned photographs of Nazi-occupied Paris was found at a Paris flea market in 2020. This collection, initially shrouded in mystery, has been attributed to Raoul Minot, an amateur photographer who risked his life to document the era.