1
Presents
A Journey into the Holocaust
A Film by
Paul Bachow
For more information:
Paul Bachow
Office: (610) 660-4900
Email: [email protected]
2
INDEX
1. Accolades (p.3)
2. Logline and 750 Word Synopsis (p.4)
3. Background Information on the story (p.6)
4. Director, Paul Bachow (p.8)
5. Director’s Statement (p.8)
6. Featuring: (Survivors, Experts, Filmmaker, Narrators) (p.10)
7. Cast Crew Credits (p.17)
8. Quick Guide - Logline, 125 word synopsis (p. 22)
9. 250 word synopsis, and Contact information. (p.23)
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ACCOLADES
“Nobody has made a film like this before.”
- Benjamin Barnett, Festival Director, Philadelphia Independent Film Festival
“This is the best documentary on the Holocaust we have ever seen.”
- Palm Beach International Film Festival
“This film is the gold standard of Holocaust education and Paul Bachow’s masterpiece
is a treasure for the generations to come.”
- Wendy Honig, Chairperson, Palm Beach International Film Festival, “Jewish
Experience” selection committee
“This is a powerful and informative film.”
- Nancy Dershaw, Founder and President, NEXT GENERATIONS
“This is a must see film. Bachow’s breadth and depth will raise your consciousness into
man’s ability to carry out genocide.”
-Sidney Pertnoy, Chairman Hillel International
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LOGLINE
A Journey into the Holocaust is a detailed and deeply personal exploration into
genocide, a documentary film about the Holocaust like no other.
SYNOPSIS
A film about the Holocaust and other genocides like no other. A Journey into the
Holocaust is a detailed and deeply personal exploration into genocide. This film delves
into history, uncovering the thoughts and beliefs that led to the occurrence of such an
event – and why these types of atrocities continue to take place again and again – even
in modern times.
First-time filmmaker Paul Bachow provides the “formula for the Holocaust and other
genocides” and proves his point. He delves into Jewish history by examining the first
appearances of anti-Semitism in Europe and how it began its rise. It examines the
beginnings of the Christian and Lutheran religions. This film addresses many
questions. Why is religion such a powerful key to human behavior? Why do people
believe so strongly? How are beliefs passed from generation to generation? How
human beliefs can be the foundation to actions causing unspeakable horrors for
generations.
This film studies the powerful movements of the time as well as the rise of Hitler and
how he became a dictator. The details of the Holocaust come to life as never before,
providing life to the black and white photographs. Bachow explains how ordinary
German citizens could pull the trigger of hand pistols six inches away from the heads of
total strangers, and how they could do it day after day, week after week and month after
month. In never-before-seen or heard interviews of Holocaust Survivors, you’ll
understand first-hand how defenseless men, women and children were killed, all
because they were Jewish, and why more Jews didn’t escape. You will also be able to
form your own opinion of whether an assassination of Hitler would have ended the mass
exterminations of Jews.
What were the Germans thinking? How did they obtain the belief system necessary to
perform such heinous acts? Do these beliefs still exist today? Bachow answers these
questions and shows you what life was like for the aggressors, as well as the victims.
Through this film, you will understand what it was like to be a Jew in Europe before,
during and after WWII.
The war was not over for the Survivors after WWII, another war was just beginning for
them. Most had no place to go and emigration was essentially unavailable. Can you
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imagine what it was like to survive the torture and horrors of the Holocaust, only to be
without a country, without a home, and sometimes living in former concentration camp
barracks? To be shunned by other countries just because you were Jewish. Through
this film, you will begin to understand what life might have been.
What are the lessons of the Holocaust? How does it relate to recent genocides? What
can we learn to help prevent genocides in the future? What are the dangers of
indifference and scapegoating? Why is Israel important to the survival of Jews around
the world? Can genocide ever be eliminated from the world?
Unlike other documentaries about the Holocaust, this movie is personal and the journey
is one of a lifelong quest for understanding and peace. How could the world have let
this happen? How can we stop genocides in the future? Paul Bachow traveled to 17
countries, spent thousands of hours of intensive research and conducted dozens of
interviews with survivors and scholars to answer these questions.
Bachow taps into the vast knowledge base of historians, psychology practitioners, and
data derived from countless interviews with experts from around the world. Facts are
corroborated with first-hand accounts of Holocaust Survivors, telling the story and
memorializing the past as you’ve never seen before. The world’s remaining group of
Holocaust Survivors is dwindling every day. One of the many goals of the film was to
capture these stories in high definition. This film will be viewed for hundreds of years to
come, preserving first-hand accounts of Holocaust Survivors for future generations.
Without these Survivor stories the black and white images of the Holocaust lose a
sense of reality and become disconnected through the passage of decades.
With 31 countries and many states in the US mandating Holocaust education (or having
pending legislation to mandate), Bachow’s goal is that the film be an education tool in
schools across the country and around the world.
A Journey into the Holocaust is certain to become part of his legacy for generations to
come.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A Journey into the Holocaust
Mass murders of civilians have occurred for centuries. Genocide is not a modern
phenomenon. Humans, like other animals, have a primal urge that instinctually drives
us to band together for defense and protection, especially from the “other”. When
animals, more specifically humans, are threatened, animal instincts can trigger violent,
bloody, and even deadly attacks. The laws of society have been created to control the
beast within and allow humans to live in harmony with our fellow neighbor.
After the Dark Ages, the creation of Modern Western Civilization brought about new
levels of tolerance, openness, and freedom. It is believed to have given rise to the
highest level of human behavior and interaction in history. However, when we examine
history more deeply we unfortunately find repeated events of genocide and mass
atrocities. Since 1946, there has been a combination of over 50 genocides and mass
atrocities resulting in the estimated death of 12 to 24 million people. Why do these
horrible events continue to occur and what can we do to reduce the number of
occurrences?
A Journey into the Holocaust reveals that the persecution of the Jews is well
documented throughout history. While the Holocaust is the most prolific and recent of
over 70 occurrences of mass murder against the Jewish people, the pattern seems
unending. The massive amount of information available about the Holocaust leads to
insights about genocide.
A study of the Holocaust does not inherently involve the motives behind its inception.
Through research conducted for the film, the necessity to go back almost 2,000 years
was uncovered, and to then begin studying the plight of the Jews from that time period
forward. Only after this historical study did the origin of the German’s beliefs in the
1930s that every Jew had to be exterminated become clear.
The Germans highly valued efficiency. When they decided to exclude Jews from
society they did it more systematically and efficiently than anyone ever could have
imagined. It was amazing how fast laws removed the civil rights of this group of people
and then reduced an entire segment of society to poor, starving outsiders. As is often
the case, for a variety of reasons the general population looked away and did not help
the oppressed group. This is very similar to the self preservation behavior of wild
animals driving them to protect their own group while ignoring the safety of other
groups, even that of the same species. With animals, as with civilization, there is always
a drive to identify the familiar and distinguish it from the foreign, the “other”. Protection is
usually afforded for the familiar with little to no regard for the “other”.
The words “never again” are often spoken when discussing the Holocaust; however,
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these words alone are not enough to reduce the incidence of future genocide. People
seem to believe these words will be effective, but without action these words are
meaningless. Unknowingly, they are correct when they say never again as “The
Holocaust” is the specific name given to the genocide of the Jews by the Germans
during World War II. It is the name of a specific genocide. No other genocide will ever
be referred to as the Holocaust. The words “never again” will not stop future genocides.
Man must be aware of his tragic ability to carry out genocide. Scapegoating others for
economic problems, military defeat, high unemployment levels, educational and wealth
disparity, and other perceived inequalities will not solve these problems. Eliminating a
targeted group only unites the people who are unwilling to examine their own
contribution to society and make the necessary sacrifices in order to alleviate the root
cause of these problems. Politicians are quick to blame one group for the failure of their
policies, or for the policies of the group in power. It is a distraction intended to, at once,
absolve the people of their own responsibilities and blame another group so as to rally
the majority against a common enemy. This is more indicative of political
gamesmanship in which one party is prepared to sacrifice a targeted group as the
cause of the country’s difficulties in order to win an election by offering false solutions.
The world’s remaining group of Holocaust Survivors is dwindling every day. A Journey
into the Holocaust explores Holocaust events with riveting eyewitness testimony. One
of the many goals of the film was to capture these stories in high definition. This film will
be viewed for hundreds of years to come, preserving first-hand accounts of Holocaust
Survivors for future generations. Without these Survivor stories the black and white
images of the Holocaust lose a sense of reality and become disconnected through the
passage of decades.
This exceptional film should become essential school curriculum across the country.
When a targeted group is unable to see the reality of a threat they open themselves up
to becoming victims. The stories of Survivors are critically important, as they make the
unimaginable a reality. When people are threatened there exists a tendency to ignore
or downplay the severity of the threats. It has become common to hear terroristic
threats uttered in daily conversations. An example of this is when we hear someone
say, “I will kill you”. Threats have become so common in our vernacular that we see
them mostly as idle, posturing statements. However, when we understand the
propensity of man towards extermination of others, and how it has been manifested
throughout history, society needs to react sooner.
We must speak out and be vigilant in their efforts to reduce or prevent genocide. This is
how we can help make the world a better place.
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DIRECTOR, PAUL BACHOW
From first time writer, director, producer and editor Paul Bachow comes A Journey into
the Holocaust. A film inspired by a trip to visit the Concentration Camps in Poland two
years ago, where he was joined by his wife Terri, and 130 other people. It was on the
second day of the trip that one of the Survivors who had accompanied them announced
that this would be his last trip after nine consecutive years of making it, as it had
become too physically demanding. Paul looked at the other two Survivors and said,
“How are we going to give future generations the opportunity to learn about the
Holocaust from the people that personally experienced this atrocious genocide?” The
need to provide a high definition educational resource for high school students and
adults alike was realized, thus Paul began his journey into the Holocaust.
Paul Bachow (writer, director, producer and editor) practiced tax, securities, and
corporate law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before starting and managing a private
equity investment firm. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Paul and his
wife Terri currently reside in Aventura, Florida. A Journey into the Holocaust is his first
documentary film.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
My father always had an 8mm camera in his hands when family was around. I have
continued this tradition of always shooting video in hopes of capturing the precious and
fleeting moments that may otherwise be lost to memory. I learned that filming was also
a way to preserve history, and could provide a means to see past events through the
eyes of those who lived them. In the 1980s I filmed my grandmother as she described
how she witnessed her father and brother killed in a Russian pogrom in 1905.
The story she conveyed seemed surreal. It was difficult to imagine that events such as
these could occur in this world, but is all true. My grandmother was traded by her
mother to another family. It was the only way that she could be kept safe from
persecution and all but certain death. The family she was traded to had immigration
papers for entry into the United States of America and was preparing to flee Russia.
The papers were the parents and their three daughters. One of their daughters had an
ocular defect that prevented her from entering America. This daughter, who was
prohibited from entering the U.S. was traded for my grandmother. The understanding
being that my great grandparents would care for her in exchange for my grandmother
being taken to America by this family with the already obtained immigration papers.
This would ensure my grandmother’s survival from the persecution taking place in
Russia, and the daughter with the eye defect having someone to care for her. My
grandmother never saw her mother again, but was it not for the exchange that took
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place my grandmother would have likely perished in the pogroms and I would never
have been born.
America was founded on the promise of religious freedom, which in turn led to many
people immigrating here to escape religious persecution in their homeland. This applies
to the Quakers, Lutherans, Jesuits, Puritans, and especially Jews. An example of this is
seen in Savannah, Georgia. In 1733 there was an epidemic sweeping through
Savannah. At this time a large group of Jews arrived in Savannah attempting to escape
the Spanish Inquisition. One of these Jews was a physician to the King of Spain who
happened to bring with him a drug called quinine. As the doctor saw the people of
Savannah suffering, he administered this medication to unconscious patients and
seemingly brought them back to life. A man who would have suffered death in his
homeland came to America to escape religious persecution and helped save many
lives. A memorial to these original Jewish immigrants exists to this day in Savannah.
Many people ask me if I am the child of a Holocaust Survivor upon hearing that I made
a film about the Holocaust. For some time I would answer no. However, I have come
to realize that, although I am not a direct descendant of a Holocaust Survivor, I am a
descendant of a survivor of religious persecution as seen in the Russian pogroms.
Once I began to give this response, I would frequently be told stories from people about
their grandparents and how they had survived a pogrom or the Holocaust. One story
that has stayed with me involves a Russian pogrom and a man who was born to a
family of 13 brothers and sisters. Only two of the 14 siblings survived the pogroms, and
one of these became a grandfather of an American.
To understand the history of Jews fleeing religious persecution is to understand that
likely every Jew in America is the descendant of a Survivor of religious intolerance and
persecution.
This common history of persecution served as an inspiration for my film. Hearing
countless stories from people about how their ancestors and grandparents had survived
persecution instilled in me a desire to capture these memories and accounts and
preserve them for future generations.
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Featuring
Survivors
Andrew Burian from Czechoslovakia
Dario Gabbai from Greece
Ivan Gabor from Romania
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Baruch Goldstein from Poland
Ida Haiken, Pale of Settlement, Russian controlled territory
between Poland and Russia.
Sam Heider from Poland
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Rose Koperwas from Poland
Frieda Lefeber from Germany
David Mermelstein from Czechoslovakia
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Joseph Rosenberg from Hungary
Esther Ross from Poland
David Schaecter from Slovakia
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Hilde Smissman from Germany
Leon Rubach from Poland
Sylvia Weiner from Poland
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Interviewed Experts
Michael R. Hayse, Ph.D.,
Director of M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies,
Richard Stockton College, N.J.
Judith Miller, Ph.D.,
Adj. Full Professor, Graduate Departments of Human Development
and Clinical Psychology,
Columbia University, N.Y.
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Filmmaker
Paul S Bachow, JD, LLM (taxation), CPA on Camera and Narrator
Narrators
Paul Payton, Main Narrator
Paul Stuart Bachow, Filmmaker
Dora Levin (Edith Hann - Austrian Resident)
Stefan Sattler (German Officer)
Joachim-Michael Shumacher (SS Officer)
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CAST AND CREW:
Written, Directed and Produced by
Paul Stuart Bachow
Assistant Director
Terri Morse Bachow
A Special Thank You to the Following Featured Survivors
Andrew Burian from the USC Shoah Foundation
Dario Gabbai from the USC Shoah Foundation
Ivan Gabor
Baruch Goldstein
Ida Haiken
Sam Heider
Rose Koperwas
Frieda Lefeber
David Mermelstein
Joseph Rosenberg
Esther Ross
David Schaecter
Hilde Smissman
Leon Rubach
Sylvia Weiner
Interviewed Experts
Michael R. Hayse, Ph.D.,
Director of M.A. in Holocaust
and Genocide Studies, Richard Stockton College, N.J.
Judith Miller, Ph.D.,
Adj. Full Professor, Graduate Departments
of Human Development and Clinical Psychology,
Columbia University, N.Y.
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Historical Expert
Avi Marcovits, Ed.D.,
formerly
International School for Holocaust Studies,
Yad Vashem, Israel
Associate Producers
Terri Morse Bachow
Benjamin F. Barnett
Paul Kruss
Sean McKnight
Narration
Paul Stuart Bachow
Dora Levin (Edith Hann - Austrian Resident)
Paul Payton
Stefan Sattler (German Officer)
Joachim-Michael Shumacher (SS Officer)
Cinematography - US
Paul Stuart Bachow
Cinematography - Europe
Mark Moormann
Editor
Paul Stuart Bachow
Finishing Editor and Motion Graphics
Sean McKnight
Additional Motion Graphics
Rewind Replay Laboratories LLC
Editorial Consultants
Benjamin F. Barnett
Harold Gronenthal
Mark Moormann
Dennis Patton
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Original Music
Peter Deneff
Sound Design
Outpost Audio
Juan Dieguez
Sound Mix
ECG Productions
Voice Over Engineer
Flemuel Brown III
Historic Image Research
Terri Morse Bachow
Illustrator
J T Waldman
Technical Consulting
Daniel R Eaton Media Production
Historic Video Footage
Buyout Footage.com
Critical Past
Footage Farm
Historic Films
Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
UCLA Film and Television Archive
USC Shoah Foundation Institute
http://sfi.use.edu
US Holocaust Memorial Museum,
gift of the Gasul Family
Video Blocks
Yahad-In Unum Research Center
Photographs Provided By
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Photo Archives
Archiwum Dokumentacji Mechanicznej
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ART Resource
Associated Press
Beit Lohamei Haghetaot
Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz
British Broadcasting Company
Bundesarchiv-Bildarchiv
College of Education, University of South Florida
Comite International de la Croix Rouge - ICRC
Federation of Romanian Jewish Communities
Florida Center for Instructional Technology
Fold3.com
Getty Images
Ghetto Fighter’s House Museum
Hamburger Institut fuer Sozialforschung
Histories Museum der Stadt Frankfurt am Main
Holocaust History Archive
HolocaustResearchProject.org
Incredibleimages4u.blogspot.com
Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
iStockphoto
Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
KZ Gedenkstaette Dachau
Muzej Revolucije Narodnosti Jugoslavije
Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa
Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku
Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek
Reuters Pictures
Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents
Serviviul Roman De Informatii Stadtarchiv Nuernberg
Stadtarchiv und Stadtmusem Erlangen
SZ - Sueddeutscher Verlag Bilderdienst
Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
US National Archives
Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum
Wikimedia Foundation
Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs’
and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
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“Ida’s Memory”
Original song composed by Peter Deneff
Peter Deneff: Piano, arrangement
Yervand Kalajian: Violin
Thank You
Marsha Bilzin
Paul Bunt
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Jill Frechie
Harold Gronenthal
Ann St Hilaire
Roberta Jacoby
Howard Kessler
Gary Katz
Michael Katz
Richard Lieberman
Rafel Medoff, Ph.D.
Dennis Patton
Sidney Pertnoy
Aryeh Rubin
Sandi Slap
THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS VIDEO, AND THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE
IMAGES ARE USED, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OR POLICY OF, NOR
IMPLY APPROVAL OR ENDORSEMENT BY, THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
MUSEUM.
The messages of the survivors and the individuals tortured and murdered must never be forgotten.
© Copyright MMXIV Ida's Memory LLC. All rights reserved.
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Quick Guide
Logline:
A Journey into the Holocaust is a detailed and deeply personal exploration into
genocide, a documentary film about the Holocaust like no other.
125 Word Synopsis:
A Journey into the Holocaust is a detailed and deeply personal exploration into
genocide. This film delves into history, uncovering the thoughts and beliefs that led to
the occurrence of such an event – and why these types of atrocities continue to take
place again and again – even in modern times.
First-time filmmaker, Paul Bachow, travels around the world and taps into the vast
knowledge base of historians, psychology practitioners, and data derived from countless
interviews with experts. Facts are corroborated and woven together with first-hand
accounts of Holocaust Survivors.
Bachow’s goal is for this film to become a tool used by educators for generations to
come.
A Journey into the Holocaust is a documentary film about the Holocaust like no other.
23
250 Word Synopsis:
A Journey into the Holocaust is a detailed and deeply personal exploration into
genocide. This film delves into history, uncovering the thoughts and beliefs that led to
the occurrence of such an event – and why these types of atrocities continue to take
place again and again – even in modern times.
First-time filmmaker Paul Bachow, based on his study of the Holocaust, provides a
“formula for genocide” and proves his point. He delves into Jewish history by examining
the first appearances of anti-Semitism in Europe, how it began its rise and the powerful
movements of the times. He explains how ordinary German citizens could pull the
trigger of hand pistols six inches away from the heads of total strangers, and how they
could do it day after day, week after week and month after month. In never-before-seen
or heard interviews of Holocaust Survivors, you’ll understand first-hand how
defenseless men, women and children were killed … all because they were Jewish.
And why more Jews didn’t escape.
Bachow taps into the vast knowledge base of historians, psychology practitioners, and
data derived from countless interviews with experts from around the world. Facts are
corroborated and woven together with first-hand accounts of Holocaust Survivors, telling
the story and memorializing the past as you’ve never experienced before.
With 31 countries and many states mandating, or having proposed legislation to
mandate, Holocaust education, Bachow’s goal is for this film to become a tool used by
educators throughout the world, for generations to come.
A Journey into the Holocaust is a documentary film about the Holocaust like no other.
For more information:
Paul Bachow
Office: (610) 660-4900
Email: [email protected]