Films on the Holocaust

Films with a Holocaust and conference-related theme will be shown and followed by discussion.

Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
April 8, 2019, 6:45 PM
West Lafayette Public Library, 208 W Columbia St, West Lafayette
Co-sponsored with WALLA

The story of Hannah Senesh, a Hungarian poet who was captured by the Nazis, while trying to rescue Jews in WWII.

At age 22, Hannah Senesh parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe in an effort to save the Jews of Hungary. As a poet and diarist, she left behind a body of work that has inspired generations. Retrace her perilous mission and get a glimpse into the life of this talented and complex woman. Hannah Senesh Legacy Foundation website
Jewish Virtual Library - Hannah Senesh Biography
Los Angeles Times Review
PBS Independent Lens
IMDB

Misa's Fugue
April 11, 2019, 6:30 PM
Temple Israel, 620 Cumberland Ave., West Lafayette

The film will be accompanied by a discussion of the history of the Torah scroll at Temple Israel and other rescued scrolls.

Frank "Misa" Grunwald was born in Czechoslovakia in September of 1932. Four months later, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Misa's Fugue is the true story of one boy's journey through Prague, Terezin, Auschwitz, Mauthausen, Melk, and Gunskirchen as a victim of arbitrary Nazi oppression. While exposed to some of the most horrific people, places, and events of the Holocaust, Frank Grunwald was able to endure the atrocities of genocide through a love for art and music that his childhood in Prague had instilled in him. His story of suffering, loss, and self-discovery is poignantly told from the perspective of a child who has lived with these tragic memories for more than half of a century. Encountering the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele and legendary artist Dina Babbit along the way, Frank Grunwald's life demonstrates the decision that all men and women must make to devote their lives either to the creation or destruction of human civilization.

The tapestry of tragedy and artistry in the life of Frank Grunwald is interwoven with the teenage painters, sculptors, musicians, and filmmakers from Fleetwood Area High School who collaborated to create a documentary that attempts to embellish the creative spirit amidst the most destructive moment in human history.

Purdue University history professor Rebekah Klein-Pejs?ova? will provide historical context for Misa Grunwald?s family life in Czechoslovakia before World War II. She will also speak about the "Second Life" of Torah scrolls looted from synagogues in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, later sold for hard currency by the Communist regime, and later dispersed on permanent loan to synagogues world- wide, including Temple Israel. Professor Klein-Pejs?ova? specializes in 20th Century east-central European Jewish History.

Lee High teacher's documentary nominated for Emmys
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IMDB