For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 3, 2016
A new 30-minute documentary that shares the stories of six Holocaust survivors who now live in Montgomery County will be available on County Cable Montgomery (CCM) and on demand via YouTube. The documentary recounts the memories of the six from their days growing up in Europe as the Nazi regime was expanding its reign of terror and expresses why each feels the urgent need to keep those stories alive for future generations.
The Montgomery County Council honored the six residents featured in the documentary on April 26 and had a screening of the film in advance of the internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 5.
Stories of Holocaust Survivors in Montgomery County will be shown on the County government’s cable station CCM (Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) at 2 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, and at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 7. It is available on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/j2vdc2e .
The Holocaust was the state-sponsored systematic persecution and 1933 and 1945, and while Jews were the primary target—six million were murdered—other ethnic and religious groups also were victimized. Pursuant to a 1980 Act of Congress, the United Holocaust Memorial Council designates “Days of Remembrance” each year to recall and reflect on the horrible crimes committed during the Holocaust and to endure that the memory and legacy of lives lost will not be forgotten.
The documentary tells the stories of Inga Borisova of Bethesda, Nesse Godin of Silver Spring, Henry Greenbaum of Bethesda, Manny Mandel of Forest Glen, Halina Peabody and Martin Weiss of Bethesda. Each attended the Council ceremonies, which were led by Councilmember Sidney Katz and organized with the help of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland in 1943. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called “Yom HaShoah.” On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins. Surviving ghetto residents were deported to concentration camps or killing centers.
The Montgomery residents were recently interviewed by County Cable Montgomery (CCM) producer Barbara Grunbaum, who created the documentary, and videographer Mike Springirth. Both are Chesapeake Region Emmy Award winners for previous works.
# # # # Release ID: 16-143