A special film will be shown at the Little Theatre cinema in Bath later this month as part of annual commemorations for Holocaust Memorial Day.
Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland | Photo © meunierd / Shutterstock.com
This year’s anniversary marks the 80th year since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp during World War II.
For the second year in a row, the Little Theatre and the B&NES Faith Foundation have teamed up to host the event.
Nathan Hartley, Director of the B&NES Faith Foundation, said: “The European Holocaust of the 1930s and 1940s is one of the most documented genocides in history.
“Over 6 million Jews were sent to extermination camps and gas chambers before and during the War. By 1945, 65% of Europe’s Jewish population has been wiped out – at least 2 out of every 3 Jews on the continent had been killed.
“As well as the Jewish community, other minority groups were also targeted and murdered by the Nazis, including members of the LGBT community, socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, disabled people, Slavs, Freemasons, Black Europeans, liberals and gypsies.”
This year, the Commandant’s Shadow will be shown at the cinema.
The true story that inspired the Oscar-winning ‘The Zone of Interest’, ‘The Commandant’s Shadow’ tells how, eight decades after Auschwitz, Hans Jurgen Höss and Anita Lasker Wallfisch – both survivors in their very different ways – come face to face, together with their children, to explore how the Holocaust has impacted all their lives.
A spokesperson at the Little Theatre said: “It’s a historic moment, the first time the descendant of a major war criminal meets a survivor in such a private and intimate setting.
“Told through first-hand testimony, letters, personal and historical archive footage, this feature-length documentary is about a mother and daughter, a father and son, and the shadow cast down the generations.
“Raising questions about love, guilt and forgiveness, it is also a story of hope, acceptance and compassion. This film is not to be missed!”
The Faith Foundation’s patron, Sarah Bevan, will say a few words before the film starts.
Sarah is the daughter of a Holocaust Survivor and is known for her work in raising awareness of the horrors of 1930s and 1940s Europe.
Councillor Karen Walker, the Chairwoman of Bath & North East Somerset Council, will also be attending.
For more details, and to book tickets for the film screening visit: www.picturehouses.com/cinema/little-theatre-cinema.
