Special programs in honor of Holocaust Remembrance.
Desperate Hours
DESPERATE HOURS shares the little-known Holocaust stories of small groups of Turkish Muslims, Jews and Christians who worked together to save lives during a time when millions were murdered before the eyes of an indifferent world. The film, based on authoritative scholarship and interviews with survivors, former diplomats and clergy, explores how diplomats risked their own lives by rescuing Jews of Turkish origin. DESPERATE HOURS also recounts how the Yishuv — Jews from pre-state Israel — daringly used Turkey as a base to rescue Jews. The film also compellingly documents the tragic sinking of the Struma Refugee Ship and the odyssey of its lone survivor, as well as the infamous “Jews for sale” deal — the 1944 attempt to trade one million Jews for 10,000 trucks.
Watch Monday, April 16, 2012 at 9pm.
Nazi Hunt: Elusive Justice
Candice Bergen narrates this new documentary that explores the 65-year effort to identify, prosecute and punish the 20th century’s most notorious murderers. In the face of apathy, obstruction and violence, the men and women who pursued Nazi fugitives brought a measure of dignity to the victims of the Holocaust while reminding the international community that enemies of humanity must be prosecuted and punished — if humanity is to survive.
Watch Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 8pm.
Prisoner of Her Past
PRISONER OF HER PAST tells the story of a secret childhood trauma resurfacing, 60 years later, to unravel the life of Holocaust survivor Sonia Reich. The film follows her son, Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich, as he journeys across the United States and Eastern Europe to uncover why his mother believes the world is conspiring to kill her. Along the way, he finds a family he never knew he had. This film is the first to illuminate a little-known illness: late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The documentary examines the disorder’s devastating effect on families, but also shows programs that are aiding young trauma survivors of Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, and how such early interventions may have helped Howard’s mother.
Independent Lens: A Film Unfinished
This haunting film about a film – A Film Unfinished – examines a classic Nazi propaganda film used by historians for decades to provide insight into the realities of life in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. The recent discovery of a second reel in an East German archive has thrown the veracity and intent of the Ghetto footage into question. It becomes clear as film and war historians examine the outtakes reel that Nazi propagandists and the SA had staged elaborate scenes to mislead the general public about what was really happening in Warsaw.
Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.
