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Virtual Film and Discussion: Defying the Nazis – The Sharps’ War
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.
Virtual Event: Something Beautiful Happened
Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and author Yvette Manessis Corporon scours the globe to track down the Jewish family that her Greek Orthodox grandmother saved from the Holocaust in 1944. But suddenly, after a glorious reunion with the saved family, her own family falls victim to antisemitism in the U.S. In Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil, the past and present come together in a nuanced, heartfelt story about the power of faith, the importance of kindness, and the courage to stand up for what is right.
Virtual Film and Discussion: Shores of Light
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11 AM LOS ANGELES, 2 PM NEW YORK
8 PM MILAN, 9 PM JERUSALEM
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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.
Virtual program: Hidden Children and their Rescuers
This program will explore the history and psychology of hidden children and their rescuers during the Holocaust. Meet three formerly hidden children: renowned Jewish advocate Abraham H. Foxman (hidden in Poland), psychologist Dr. Noémi Perelman Mattis (hidden in Belgium) and Holocaust educator Ruth Kapp Hartz.(hidden in France).
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Virtual program: Curious George – Saved by Sousa Mendes!
Author-illustrators Hans and Margret Rey fled Nazi-occupied France on handmade bicycles with the manuscript to the first Curious George book among their meager possessions. Thanks to a fortuitous encounter with Aristides de Sousa Mendes, they were all saved. Meet Louise Borden, author of The Journey That Saved Curious George, and Sheila Abranches-Pierce, granddaughter of Sousa Mendes. The program moderator will be Robert Jacobvitz. This will be a fun program, appropriate for all ages.
Virtual program: Destination Shanghai
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.
Virtual film and discussion: What makes a hero?
11 AM LOS ANGELES, 2 PM NEW YORK
7 PM LISBON, 9 PM JERUSALEM
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Are some people born heroic and others not? Can ordinary people become heroes, and if so, under what circumstances? Join us to explore this fascinating topic with Holocaust rescue experts Dr. Eva Fogelman and Dr. Mordecai Paldiel and award-winning Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir. Watch Shamir’s lighthearted yet earnest treatment of this important topic in his film, executive produced by Michael Moore, called 10% – What Makes a Hero? Then tune in for what is sure to be a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion. (more…)
Virtual program: The Bystander’s Choice
If you are a bystander and witness a crime, should intervention to prevent that crime be a legal obligation? Or is moral responsibility enough? Law professor Amos Guiora, the son of Holocaust survivors, argues provocatively and controversially that we must make the obligation to intervene the law, and thus non-intervention a crime. He will be in dialogue with Holocaust historians Dr. Victoria Barnett, formerly of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, formerly of Yad Vashem. Following our recent program on what makes a hero, we will examine the dilemma of the bystander and take a close look at the famous assertion by Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Virtual film and discussion: Rosenwald
Aviva Kempner’s Rosenwald tells the inspiring true story of Julius Rosenwald, the President of Sears, who was a Jewish hero of African-American history. Rosenwald, imbued with the value of tikkun olam, saw parallels between the brutal persecutions of Jews in Eastern Europe and African-Americans in the Jim Crow South, and he could not stand idly by. His grandest project was to build more than 5,300 rural schools to educate black children in partnership with Booker T. Washington. Several generations of leaders, thinkers and scholars were Rosenwald school graduates, including such luminaries as the late Maya Angelou, the late Rep. John Lewis, and Eugene Robinson — all of whom appear in the film. (more…)
Virtual film and discussion: I Shall Not be Silent
An unsung hero who should be widely known! In Berlin in the 1930’s, the civil rights of Jews were systematically stripped away. A young rabbi refused to be silent. His name was Joachim Prinz and he set out to restore the self-esteem of the German Jews. Expelled from Germany in 1937, Prinz arrived in the United States, where he witnessed racism against African Americans and realized that the American ideal was not a reality. Prinz became a leader of the civil rights movement and spoke at the 1963 March on Washington, declaring, “Bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.” (more…)