The Starfish

I had the delight of watching this documentary yesterday. I saw it mentioned in A.M. NY . The picture of the siblings drew me in. Somehow it seemed it was a recent photo of Jewish siblings and not a photo of children from seventy years ago. I went to amazon and watched the film. Its a heart warming story about a family who were saved from certain death during World War II. What a story it was. It reminds the wokesters that most Jewish families came to the United States because they were fleeing persecution and not because they just wanted to switch countries.

Keep Quiet Official Trailer 1 (2017) - Documentary

  A few years ago I had heard the story of a Hungarian neo-Nazi who found out he was Jewish and then started exploring his Jewish roots. This documentary is his story.
     Basically his Jewish , Holocaust surviving maternal grandmother hid her Jewishness from her grandson. When her grandson becomes involved in anti semitism she still did not mention to him that she and his mother are really Jewish , making him Jewish as well. Later it is revealed  that he indeed is Jewish. He is thrown for a loop.
  Szegedi goes to a local orthodox rabbi to explore his roots. This is not an easy task. Is he ready to atone for his past ? The rabbi gives him a chance but he also tells him in order to repent he must go through all of the steps of teshuvah. The rabbi realizes that this level of teshuvah cannot be done overnight, but he believes another Jew deserves this chance.This film is the story of the beginning of this journey.
   It is quite amazing that Szegedi did not commit suicide upon finding out he is Jewish. I think that just living another day with such knowledge is its own living hell. I also understand why many doubt his sincerity. That said I do believe that he should be given the chance to repent. He is still a young man. It seems he is single as well. I am not sure what kind of woman would marry him knowing his past. Perhaps someone with the same type of background.
    I think that the saddest part is that his mom and grandmother failed to reveal their Jewish heritage with him before he became such a rabid anti-semite. His hatefulness is not their fault but perhaps they could have stopped him before he had gotten so entrenched.
    I hope Szegedi succeeds in his teshuvah. If he does he can be a shining example to others 
   

Stitching History

     Hedy Strnad  did not survive the shoah, but her sketches did . These sketches were sent to relatives in America in hopes that it would help her find a job in the United States and to escape the Nazis.  6o years later these letters and sketches were found again by their relatives in Milwaukee and then donated to the Jewish Historical Society in Milwaukee. In 2014 the museum worked with the Milwaukee repertory theater  to reproduce these dresses and have a fashion show. These dresses are exquisite. Such creativity was lost. Imagine how  much more creative and beautiful the world would be if these people had not been murdered.

Green Lantern

A vision in green

Hedy original

fashion plate

Hedy's sketches

Hedy's original

 Though I have included many photos, nothing beats seeing these creations in person. You won't regret it.

A Spark Among the Ashes , A Bar Mitzvah in Poland

    Truth is stranger than fiction and some things you just can't make up. So goes this documentary that I just watched on Amazon Prime called A SPARK AMONG THE ASHES: A BAR MITZVAH IN POLAND .
     The film is the result of a Jewish  group who had visited Poland in the mid- 1980's fulfilling a request of an elderly Holocaust survivor named Maria Yakobovitz. When the Jewish   group including Mike Gladstein  visited her community they asked what they could give them , Maria Yakobovitz said that they did not need money but she wanted to see a bar mitzvah in her synagogue. Somehow they found a boy named Eric Strom from Stamford , Connecticut who was willing to have his bar mitzvah in Krakow,  Poland. In the film they show step by step the planning and the story of what happened at the bar mitzvah.
       Eric and his family were reform Jews who in 1985 had a woman rabbi at their synagogue. I did not realize that there were women rabbis in 1985. Anyway, as the event became more publicized a rabbi in Brooklyn , Rabbi Elbaum,  became upset that a reform woman rabbi would be performing this bar mitzvah in Poland, a place where no bar mitzvah had occurred in so long. There was a lot of controversy leading up to the bar mitzvah , but it did happen . The service ended up being led by the orthodox rabbi, the men and women sat in separate sections,   the boy was able to read his Torah portion. The reform rabbi even managed to give her speech. Rabbi Elbaum was interviewed as well in the film which was quite interesting. Though he did not mince words about his feelings for reform Judaism , he did concede that he felt that Eric  did a good job and that he has a good heart.
      I found this documentary hard to watch at times because there were so many sides to the story and I sympathized with everybody. The Stroms took their two children and their parents to Poland for the bar mitzvah of their son to fulfill the wish of a holocaust survivor that they never met. Maria Yakobovitz had probably been orthodox before the war, but by 1985 likely was less so. The Stroms went to a reform temple that happened to have a woman rabbi who did seem to be respectful of those who were orthodox . The orthodox Jews who were upset that they were going to have a reform bar mitzvah had hoped that if there would be a bar mitzvah again in Poland felt that it was a shame that it would not be an orthodox one.
         In the end the bar mitzvah occurred fairly smoothly. Maria Yakubovitz was so happy . I am certain that the Stroms will never forget this bar mitzvah.
         I would love to see an update on the Stroms . I feel like this documentary was the ultimate Jewish reality show. We could use a reunion film or perhaps an epilogue.
          Though this film was a bit like a reality show, it really was quite amazing. A Jewish family had a bar mitzvah for their son in Krakow in 1985 to fulfill a request of an elderly holocaust survivor that they had never met. There are some amazing Jewish people.


     

Francine's interview - FRANCE - #HUMAN

    This story is bittersweet like the chocolate in the story must have been. 

Three Minutes in Poland- A 1938 Home Movie: Glenn Kurtz at TEDxBergenCom...

    Glenn Kurtz speaks about his grandparents' home movie of their travels in 1938 which included a visit to the town in Poland where they were from. Kurtz found this 70 years later . He gave it the holocaust museum and later was able to identify some of the people in the film. I plan on reading his book about this journey called Three minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a Family Film .

Three minutes in Poland

    This is so amazing. The granddaughter of one of the children in this film identified her grandfather in the film. Fortunately the grandfather was able to see this film as he was still alive. He also helped identify others in this film.
This happens a lot. I saw the documentary "Jazz men of the Gulag " and the son and grandson of one of the people in the film was there and brought  photos.  I sat in front of them so I was able to see the photos.
    One takes a photo or a film one day and one just never knows what significance it will take years later.
    

Jewish Survivor Nathan Lipschitz Testimony

   This is Nathan Lipschutz who was in the colorized shtetl film that I posted in my last post. His testimony is the first one on this video. This was filmed in 1996 when he was 77 years old. 

Behind the Scenes - Plonsk: Identifying a Town

    This is something that I have always wondered about. This is an interesting glimpse at all the hard work people put into identifying people in the footage of shtetls.

Anne Frank: the only existing film images

I have seen this footage of Anne Frank  before, but it is worth sharing because it is so powerful. As important as it is to remember how her life was lost it is so important to remember that she was a young girl full of life.

Woman in Gold

     Several years ago I went to the musem mile event on fifth avenue . That's the one night in June when the museums have free admission. That year my friend insisted we go to the Neueue Gallery to see a Gustav Klimt painting. I did not really know the history behind it until I saw this new film Woman in Gold.  Apparently the painting called Woman in Gold was a painting of an Austrian Jewish woman named Adele Bloch-Bauer. It was one of five paintings that the Bloch-Bauer family owned before the Nazis stole them from their home during the holocaust. These paintings were displayed in the Belvedere museum in Austria. Aside from being stolen paintings they also stripped the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer of its Jewish roots. It was called Woman in Gold instead of saying it was a painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer.
      In the late nineties Maria Altmann , the niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer created a law suit to regain custody of her family's paintings. Through quite an amazing battle they did manage to recover these paintings. What an amazing feat. It is bittersweet. Though she could have the paintings Maria Altmann could never replace the family she lost and the home and homeland she lost due to the Nazis.
        The saddest moment of the film is when in a flashback Maria Altmann says goodbye to her parents before she escapes Vienna. Her father says that they worked hard for what they had but though the Nazis could take away their things they could not take away the love they had for their family. To me this is the story of the Jews  and anti-semitism. We work so hard for what we have and the goyim are so envious.
         When watching the film it is important to note that the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer is so much more dazzling in person than what one sees on film.
         This is a really good film worth seeing

    

Family history come to life: Lost Holocaust-era dress designs uncovered

     This is such  a sad story. This couple sent these dress designs to their relatives in the United States to help get the wife a job and help them get exit visas. Sadly it was not fast enough to save them. The couple did not survive but these sketches do. They are hanging in the Milwaukee holocaust museum. They even actually made dresses from these designs. I cannot hold back my tears. Such beautiful dresses. Imagine what this woman could have created had she lived longer. Words cannot express how  sad it is for these lives to have been cut so short. 

The Lady in Number 6

      I recently watched the documentary 'The Lady in Number 6' . It is a documentary about the life of Alice Herz-Sommer, an 109 year old holocaust survivor.  She was a pianist and the fact that she was able to play piano is why she survived the holocaust. The documentary is a bit slow moving, but it is amazing to see the spirit of Alice Herz Sommer. She was such a positive person despite all the tragedy in her life.  
      Sommer's husband was killed in the war, but she and their son survived. He grew up to be a musician as well. He died at the age of 64 after a concert tour. He left a wife and two sons. Sommer was so grateful that her son did not have a long and painful illness. She stressed that she believed this with all of her heart. She was so thankful. It really gives a person perspective. What Sommer was really saying was that she was grateful that her son lived to the age of 64 and was not murdered in the holocaust. Indeed she was correct. Though her son did not live an especially long life , he was able to live a good life and give her much nachas. Hitler wanted her son to die as a child . Instead, b"h , he lived to be a successful musician a husband and a father. Her relationship with music made gave her life, her appreciation for what is important in life makes her someone to be admired.
     

Sarah's Key

      I watched the movie  Sarah's Key a few days ago. I had been putting off seeing it because I was not sure if it was going to be too Hollywood and I knew that it would be unsettling.
     Sarah's Key begins when the Jews were being rounded up in France during World War II. A little girl locks her little brother in a closet so that the police won't find him and take him away. She had thought that it was him that they wanted. As it turned out the whole family was being rounded up. The little girl is beside herself when she realizes that her little brother was left behind and no one would be able to let him out of the closet. The determination to free her brother from the closet saves her life. The film covers Sarah's life and the life of a journalist who is investigating what had happened to the Jews of France during World War II.
     The psychological impact of this movie is intense. It is not a true story but its story captures so much despair and horror that one feels slightly ill while watching it. I have the kindle version of the book which I also have put off reading. Perhaps it will be easier to consider now that I have seen the film and know the story.

Hitler's Children

     I recently saw a very interesting documentary called Hitler's Children which is about descendants of  Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Amon Goeth . They speak with the guilt and horror of being their descendants. Some of them sterilized themselves so their genes would never be able to be reproduced. Some wrote books others make personal appearances and speak about how they don't want there to be another Holocaust and how heinous the acts their forefathers carried out were. This is a film worth watching
 

The Reading of the Names

     I do not recall being at any pre- 911 holocaust memorial ceremony that actually read an extended list of names of people who perished. I remember seeing lists of people who were murdered and hearing individual accounts , but never a whole reading of names of those who were lost. Maybe it was done before but I never noticed. I have noticed that at the JCC in Manhattan they will be reading names of those who were murdered during the shoah. I think that this is meaningful. I find it meaningful to hear the reading of the names of those who died during 9/11 at the  9/11 memorial every year. I admit that I don't usually listen to all of the names being read, but I guess that this is the point. So many were lost that its difficult to listen to all of the names being read . During a holocaust memorial there are even more names to be read. And those are just the names we are aware of . 

Roman VIshniac at ICP

     This video really captures the essence of the exhibit. The photos are so artistic and have a lot of heart..

Roman Vishniac Rediscovered | International Center of Photography

Roman Vishniac Rediscovered | International Center of Photography  In honor of Yom Hashoah I went to see this exhibit. For all those who may not know, Roman Vishniac took photos of the shtetl Jews right before world war two. Until I saw this exhibition I did not realize that Roman Vishniac was Jewish . This of course explains why his photos are so charming. They were taken by someone who loved his people. The photos capture the facial expressions of these people. The photos of children are  wonderful. Some of the people in the photos have been identified. Some survived the war, others did not.
     David Eckstein was one of the chasidic heder boys who did survive the war. There is an excerpt from his shoah foundation video playing at the exhibit.
     Vishniac arrived in the United States in the early 1940's. He then  displayed his photos as a plea to help save the Jews of Europe. Displayed in the exhibit is his letter to FDR asking him to help the Jews who were trapped in  Europe.
     I have seen some of the books with Vishniac's photos, but to see his photos exhibited in a museum is dazzling and it honors those who were so brutally murdered. It gives a faces to the 6 million. It makes us remember that they were vibrant people.
     There is 17 minute video that shows shtetl Jews basket weaving and farming .It brings them to life. It is surreal .
     If you live in the New York area try to see this exhibit before it closes on May 5. You won't regret it.

Kol Nidre

    My favorite film so far at the Jewish Film Festival this year is a film that has recently been restored by the Jewish Film Archive called Kol Nidre. 
     For some reason , many of these old films use Yom Kippur as a theme.
     Kol Nidre is about 3 American born Jewish school children in the about late 1920's or early 1930's . Two of the children - the girl and one of the boys are shomer shabbos. The second boy is not. The shomer shabbos boy is the son of a rabbi who follows in his father's footsteps. They grow up. One boy is a sleazy charmer and the other becomes a rabbi. The girl's parents want their daughter to marry the rabbi. She of course runs off with the good for nothing who of course turns out to be a good for nothing.
      The funny thing about the movie is that the child actors in the film speak Yiddish with strong American accents. The adults that play them when they are grown have authentic Eastern European accents.
       This film was made in 1939 which is of great significance. This movie is about assimilation of the young people without demonizing those who remain faithful to their religion. In the end the girl ends up with the handsome rabbi after being heartbroken from her gambling womanizing first husband. Of course the beginning her t'shuvah is when as a  beleaguered young wife  she walks by the shul with her baby on Yom Kippur eve. And the rest is melodrama.
        I love the fact that these old Yiddish films are being restored. They hold a key to a world that so many of us have never seen. It is the world of my grandparents and great grandparents. The world of the Eastern European Jewish immigrant. They were glad to live in the new world but they missed the old world. By the 1940's Jews were already part of the general society so there was not a need for these films. Sure there were holocaust survivors in the years after WWII but they had a different story than these Jews.
          Then again , many Yiddish actors died in the shoah. Two of the actors in the movie Kol Nidre were saved by doing this movie. It took awhile to film it so the actors did not end up returning to Europe as quickly as they had planned to. It was during this time that the war broke out. They were very fortunate to be able to be in New York at that time.
         There is still another film that I plan to see at the Jewish Film Festival. If it ends up being worthwhile I will write about it.                                                                  

DOXA 2009: Inside Hana's Suitcase

i recently watched one of the most incredible stories ever on netflix. the name of the documentary is inside hana's suitcase.  this film begins as the story of a japanese woman named fumiko ishioka  who is an educator at the japanese holocaust education center in japan. ms ishioka taught  children about the holocaust and in 1999 she requested artifacts from the holocaust museum in auschwitz . she especially requested artifacts from children so she would be able to help the children she was teaching be able to relate to it better. one of the artifacts she recieved was a suitcase of  a little girl name hana brady. ms ishioka and the children wondered what hana's fate had been as well as what her life had been like before the war.
after much research ms ishioka found out that hana spent time in terezin and died in auchwitz. she also found out that hana had a brother george who did survive the war. ms ishioka also managed to find pictures that hana had drawn in auchsiwitz that acutally had her name on them. she also managed to locate george brady who was livning in toronto at the time.
george was very happy to tell ms ishioka about his sister. he felt such deep survivor's guilt. he wanted to share his sister's life with others so she would not be forgotten. he sent ms ishioka pictures of his sister. he eventually went to japan and spoke to children about his sister and about his life. his sister always wanted to be a teacher and now through her so many learned about the holocaust. all because of a suitcase that had her name on it.
a childhood friend of hanna's had gone to the holocaust memorial in auschwitz in 1962 and took a picture of herself with hann'as suitcase. she did this with much sadness as this was all she had to remember her friend. at some point it was realized when george saw this photo that the suitcase that he saw was not the same suitcase as the one he saw in the photo. hanna's real suitcase had gone to a holocaust museum in birmingham  , england to be displayed there and in 1984 neo - nazis burned the facility where the suitcase was kept. the museum in poland wanted to replicate hana's suitcase  because there were so few children's suitcases that survived. they replicated the suitcase from hanna's friend's photo. through this replica so many lives were touched by this little girl.
george brady saw his sister's artwork from terezin and was able to remember why she would have drawn these pictures. this helped other children learn about his sister's life , not just her demise.
this film intersperses commentary on hanna's life from children in japan and toronto who have learned about her life.
karen levine was inspired by this story to write a children's book called hanna's suitcase that has been translated into many languages.
this film is such an amazing journey about how teaching about the holocaust and tolerance for others that has  brought so many people from  around the world together. i highly recommend it.