History - Holocaust: Audio and Video

Six remarkable stories of survival from eyewitnesses of Nazi atrocities during World War 2, brought to life through animation and a series of follow-up interviews with elderly survivors who recount their childhood experiences of Nazi atrocities and the impact on their lives. In thoughtful interviews, they discuss why Holocaust education is important to keep alive the memory of those who were murdered, and in order to stay vigilant so that the world may never see these horrific events repeated.

Jews wishing to escape persecution in Nazi Germany had limited choices as to where they might relocate. One city that would accept immigrants without a visa was Shanghai, where nearly 20,000 refugees eventually fled. Arriving there with nothing, most spent a hard, hungry, disease-ridden time in camps acclimating to their new environment, but the Jewish district in Shanghai eventually grew into a cosmopolitan center replete with Western-style bakeries, cafes, and newspapers. This program uses rare footage and primary documents to provide a history of Shanghai’s Jewish community, with a focus on Jacob, one of the few refugees who stayed on after the war.