Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story Launches Film Series in at Roth Center for Jewish Life.
Hanover, NH -February 16, 2009 - Hope and Remembering: Honoring and Healing, a four-part film and discussion series featuring Holocaust survivors, rescuers, and the history that affects us all, will be presented in Hanover at the Roth Center for Jewish Life beginning on February 26. The series is proudly sponsored by the Upper Valley Jewish Community, in their continuing efforts to support life-long learning and education, and Dartmouth Hillel. The public is invited to attend the events included in this thought-provoking series..
The series begins with the screening of Secret Courage - The Walter Suskind Story, accompanied by discussion with the film's director and producers, Tim and Karen Morse of M&M Films in Marlborough, MA. In addition to continued screenings and public exposure, the Morses'goals for 2009 center on educational outreach. Karen Morse and survivor Ries Vanderpol have created the first draft of a Teacher's Guide which will be made available to educators at the screening..
Walter Suskind was a German Jew living in Amsterdam who was forced by the Nazis to serve as the Jewish head of deportation at the Hollandsche Schouwburg (the Jewish Theater in Amsterdam), used as the main deportation site in Holland. Using his fluent German, his skills as an actor and businessman, and unfathomable courage and tenacity, he and an intrepid group of resistance workers orchestrated the escape of close to 1000 Dutch children who were marked for transport to the death camps. In Secret Courage, we hear the stories of five of the saved children in their own words. Eleven of the resistance workers interweave their own stories, painting a picture of an incredible rescue operation fraught with intrigue and danger, but also carrying the moral and ethical dilemma of deciding who could be saved and who could not. Although Walter took the secret of this mission to his death, these survivors tell his story and reflect on his ability to carry on when others gave up. They leave us to question our own moral code and what each of us might do when faced with such choiceless choices.
"I have seen hundreds of Holocaust films and this is one of the great ones. It triumphs because there is no triumph - the children and their honesty take over the film," remarks Larry Langer, Holocaust Historian. Joyce Speaker, cousin of Dutch Holocaust survivors comments, "What a riveting and emotional film. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. We need to be reminded of how precious life really is.".
Secret Courage producers Karen and Tim Morse have worked in the photo, video, and film industry for over thirty years. They have produced projects both large and small in the corporate and educational sectors, as well as a large commitment in recent years to the world of non-profits. Secret Courage is their first independent project, a true "labor of love" where they managed all aspects of the production, including fund raising. The film has screened at nine film festivals and has had exposure in seven countries including Israel.
Secret Courage is being presented on Thursday, February 26, at the Roth Center for Jewish Life, 5 Occom Ridge Rd., Hanover, beginning at 7 pm. Admission is free. For more information about this event or the film series, contact Carole Clarke at uvjc@valley.net or 603-646-0460.
Further information about the series sponsors is available at:
