A fascinating, but seldom-told, chapter of WWII history is recounted in a one-hour documentary, narrated by Liev Schrieber, that airs on public television stations nationwide beginning in April (.) Produced by 3 Roads Communications, “Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge from the Holocaust,” is distributed by American Public Television (APT). The program will also air on WORLD, public television’s premier news and documentary channel, later in 2013.

The documentary chronicles an intricate international plan of rescue and resettlement that saved 1,300 Jews from certain death in Nazi concentration camps. In pre-war Manila, an unlikely mix of poker players gathered to save lives. Five Jewish-American cigar makers from Cincinnati. The president of the Philippines. A future president of the United States. A U.S.High Commissioner.

The high- profile group of poker buddies — Col. Dwight Eisenhower, First Philippine President Manuel Quezon, the U.S. High Commissioner Paul McNutt, and the Frieder brothers, Cincinnati businessmen who made two-for-a-nickel cigars in pre-World War II Manila – devised a plan.

“It’s one thing to sit around a card table and talk about a worrisome situation—even a dire situation. It’s quite another to actually take some action, and I think that’s why this is a story for all time.”
–Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Each brought a specific expertise to the mission. Its success depended upon Quezon’s pivotal support, McNutt’s diplomatic expertise and political savvy, Eisenhower’s organizational skills and gift for strategy, and the Frieders’ ability, with the help of the Jewish community in Manila, to create new lives for a steady stream of desperate refugees.

“I think for my grandfather, it was perhaps that simple. You have a country. You have a little authority. You have an opportunity. Someone has asked for refuge—which is the most basic humanitarian appeal anyone can make. You answer it.”
–Manuel Quezon III, grandson of the late President Manuel Quezon

Meticulously researched, the documentary takes viewers on a fascinating journey of five American brothers from the Midwest who leveraged their political friendships in the Philippines to plot the rescue of as many Jewish refugees as possible.

Through interviews with historians, friends and relatives of participants, and first-person accounts from survivors who share their harrowing stories of escape to the Philippines, the documentary details how late-night poker games evolved into a call to action that saved hundreds of lives.

“Rescue”…(is) significant to our history and should be known to all.”

-Yaniv Revach, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel, Manila

For more information about the film, please visit www.rescueinthephilippines.com.

“Rescue in the Philippines” Film Premieres

Premiers and screening events are scheduled and being scheduled for NYC, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Washington, DC, Charleston, Billings and Columbus, OH.

April premiers are scheduled in San Francisco, NYC & Cincinnati.

You are welcome to attend the premiers – and to tell your family and friends in all these cities – all are welcome to attend.

RSVP and additional details for these and all events are:

San Francisco: Sunday, April 7th
Two screenings: 5:00 & 6:30 p.m.
New People Cinema
1746 Post Street
Special Guests:  Survivors/Refugees
Barbara Weston Sasser, senior consultant
RSVP to bwsasser@gmail.com
No admission charge / donations accepted / DVDs for sale

New York City: Monday, April 8th
8:00 p.m.
JCC Manhattan
334 Amsterdam @ West 76th Street
Special Guests:  Survivors/Refugees
Russ Hodge & Cynthia Scott, executive producers
Barbara Weston Sasser & Peggy Ellis, senior consultants
$11 admission for non-members; $9 for members / ”Rescue” DVDs for sale
Order tickets at http://www.jccmanhattan.org/film.

New York City: Wednesday, April 10th 6:30 p.m.
American Jewish Historical Society
15 West 16th Street – between 5th and 6th
Special Guests:  Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon
Survivors/Refugees
Russ Hodge & Cynthia Scott, executive producers
Barbara Weston Sasser & Peggy Ellis, senior consultants

The program is open to all faiths.

In September 2011, as part of an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations, Weiss was brought on as interim Consulting Director of the JCRC while the search for a permanent director continued. In the ensuing year and a half, the success of the partnership became evident, and the boards of the two organizations decided to offer Weiss a permanent position.

In her interim position, Weiss spent 20% of her time at the JCRC and the remaining 80% at CHHE. To accommodate the move to a 50/50 arrangement, CHHE’s staff was reorganized and an additional employee was hired.

“With our mission so complementary to the JCRC’s, we saw it as a natural fit for Sarah’s skills to be spread over both organizations,” said CHHE President John Neyer. “We came up with an arrangement that makes both organizations stronger. This isn’t a ’1 plus 1 equals 3′ situation; it’s even better. It’s ’1 divided by 2 equals 4 or more.’ That’s the new math in high-functioning not-for-profits.”

The JCRC and CHHE-while distinct organizations with separate boards-share overlapping missions, values and goals. This continued close relationship between the two will encourage streamlined information sharing and more robust programming for the community.

Jewish Federation of Cincinnati CEO Shep Englander said, “This collaboration makes sense for everyone. In addition to creating efficiency and better results for both organizations, it will also strengthen the community as a whole.”

Sarah Weiss has worked at CHHE since 2004, when she started as a program manager. After guiding CHHE through its transition into a successful, independent 501(c)(3) organization in 2007, she became Executive Director. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, is a graduate of the “Teaching the Holocaust and Antisemitism” course at the esteemed Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies and was named a Lerner Fellow, after participating in an advanced course sponsored by The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous at Columbia University. Weiss is the 2007 recipient of the Public Allies “Changemaker” award, the 2011 Weston “Avodah” award presented by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and the YWCA’s Rising Star award. She serves on the Bridges for a Just Community board and the Ohio Council Governor’s Holocaust Memorial Selection Committee.

Dr. Baron will trace and account for the shift from the image of rescuers of victims of genocide and persecution as courageous heroes like Oskar Schindler and Paul Ruseabagina.
Dr. Lawrence Baron has held the Nasatir Chair of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University since 1988 and directed its Jewish Studies Program until 2006. He has authored four books including Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema. He is the founder and current president of the Western Jewish Studies Association.

This program is presented in partnership with the University of Cincinnati Judaic Studies department.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Main Library
800 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Acclaimed young adult author Louise Borden will speak about her creative journey writing the new nonfiction book, His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg. The book shares the inspiring story of how one man saved the lives of over 100,000 Jewish men, women, and children during the Holocaust. Tracing Wallenberg’s life from his childhood in Stockholm and college years at the University of Michigan, to his role as a Swedish humanitarian in Budapest during World War II, Borden creates a vibrant profile of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary rescue.

The Jewish and Israeli Film Festival is presenting several exciting movies this season! On Wednesday, February 13, two films will be shown with Holocaust themes.

In NUMBERED, Auschwitz survivors show how they have thrived and refused to live their lives as victims, despite the tattoos they have borne on their arms for 65+ years.

Just The Two of Us follows the last two survivors of Treblinka, two oppostive personalities, relive, reminisce, laugh, and cry, as they visit the grounds from which they fled 68 years ago.

Viewers are invited to a panel discussion following the movie with local survivors.

Tickets are available online (www.mayersonjcc.org), by phone (1.800.595.4848) or at the door. Tickets cost $8/showing for JCC members, and $10/showing for the public. For more information about the film festival, and to learn about other films offered, please visit http://www.mayersonjcc.org/?page=Film

As part of the U.S. Army 183rd Engineer Combat Battalion in World War II, Dr. Bass at age nineteen helped to liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. He saw the horrors of the Holocaust while also serving in a segregated military. “I was an angry soldier,” says Bass. “I was being asked to fight for freedom while at the same time, as a black man, I was constantly being told in many ways that I wasn’t good enough to have that freedom.”

Following World War II, Dr. Bass has dedicated much of his life as a teacher, a school administrator, and a speaker. He graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and later received a doctorate from Temple University. Dr. Bass was a principal for fourteen years at the Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia and also taught at various schools in the School District of Philadelphia. He has presented his story to audiences throughout the United States and across the world. He was a participant in the International Liberators Conference, the keynote speaker at the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, and was awarded the Pearlman Award for Humanitarian Advancement from Jewish Women International. Dr. Bass also appeared in the Academy Award-nominated Documentary “Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II.”

Dr. Bass’s presentation will also be part of an educator workshop, “Unlocking the Gates: Liberation and the Nuremberg Trials.” Through film and examination of primary documents and sources, educators will explore the liberation of the concentration camps and the question of finding justice after the Holocaust.

Public Program: “An Evening with Dr. Leon Bass”
Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Harriet Tubman Theater
50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Free and open to the public. RSVPs are recommended. Please send to RSVP contact Education Associate, Kate Morris at kmorris@holocaustandhumanity.org or 513-487-3055.

Educator Workshop: “Unlocking the Gates: Liberation and the Nuremberg Trials” with Keynote Speaker, Dr. Leon Bass
Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 4:30-7:30pm
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
To sign up for the workshop or for more information contact Director of Educational Outreach, Alexis Storch at astorch@holocaustandhumanity.org or 513-487-3055.

As a part of the Concerts on Clifton series and in honor of Commemoration of International Holocaust Day, join us for an evening of music featuring internationally renowned pianist James Tocco. Tocco will be accompanied by Rebecca McMullan Culnan, violin, Chika Kinderman, violin, Yaël Senamaud, viola and Daniel Culnan, violin. Selections including compositions by Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942, perished in the Wulzburg concentration camp) and by Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944, perished in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp).

Presented by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education

Free and open to all. Reception to follow.

Read just a sampling of the thoughts of alumni of the course:

“I cannot express enough how much this course has touched my life and will contribute to my classroom environment.” – HSE Participant 2012

“This was the best of 25 plus seminars…I’ve been to in 36 plus years!” – HSE Participant 2012

“Thank you so much for this wonderful experience. You have re-invigorated and enriched all of us!” – HSE Participant 2012

“I’m going to be teaching the Holocaust very differently than I have in the past. This is a huge resource, and the teachers in the area need to know. If you’re serious about teaching, or you’re even slightly interested in the Holocaust, this is a great experience.” – HSE Participant 2011

Register today! For registration forms and more, please click here!

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) is offering a limited number of fellowships for

Ph.D. and Post Doctoral (new!) candidates pursuing advanced Holocaust studies.

The application deadline is January 11, 2013
for the academic year of 2013-2014.

Awards up to $20,000 per year

The Saul Kagan Claims Conference Fellowship for Advanced Shoah Studies aims to strengthen Shoah studies and Holocaust memory throughout the world. Our mission is to support the advanced study of the fate of Jews who were systematically targeted for destruction or persecution by the Nazis and their allies between 1933 and 1945.  Studies can include the immediate historical context in which the Holocaust took place and encompass political, economic, legal, religious and socio-cultural aspects, as well as ethical and moral implications. The Fellowship also supports awardees in learning languages of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, and other geographical locations, which are necessary for the study of Holocaust related documents.  Post Doctoral candidates focusing on topics related to contemporary anti-Semitism will also be considered and are encouraged to apply.

Fellowships are awarded to outstanding candidates who have a strong personal commitment to Shoah memory, who have demonstrated excellence in academic achievement, and who possess the potential to provide outstanding professional leadership that will shape the future of Holocaust awareness and scholarship.

As part of the program, Kagan Fellows are invited to attend an all expenses paid, annual 5 day summer workshop alternating at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.  Fellows are invited to present their research to and network with leading scholars in Holocaust history as well as to peers.

For application information, please visit fellowships.claimscon.org

or email Chavie.Brumer@claimscon.org