Biography of Jewish artist and social activist Ben Shahn, retelling his life story and discussing his artistic work. Through documentary footage of the time period and interviews, the film explores Shahn’s past. Viewers learn about his experiences as a Russian Jewish immigrant child, his career as an artist, and his political and social activism. A running theme in Shahn’s work is his identification with outsiders and victims. He often combined realism and the abstract in his pictures. Images of many of Shahn’s paintings and sketches appear throughout the film, as well as photographs he took to inspire social reform. The film includes rare television and radio interviews with Shahn before his death in 1969, as well as interviews with his widow, his daughter and his biographer, Howard Greenfield.

56 min.  AGE:  13 to Adult

JHVC

940.53

DANZIG, 1939 (1980)

Dan

In July of 1939, ten crates of ritual objects arrived at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. The objects, many antique and extremely valuable, came from the Great Synagogue of Danzig, Germany, a magnificent temple which had boasted 1,600 congregants. The sale of these objects, arranged by the League of Nations, enabled the Jews of Danzig to buy passage out of Germany. They were the only community to do so, and the artifacts they sold to buy their freedom comprise the only such collection to escape the Holocaust. Many current and former residents of the city are interviewed in Danzig, 1939. They tell of a liberal, mixed Jewish community made up of native Germans and Russian and Polish refugees. Many of the people interviewed—among them Rabbi Iwan Gruen of the Great Synagogue—remember little anti-Semitism before Hitler. Yet all were forced to confront the tide of hate that Hitler summoned, and their escape, along with the sale of their collection of artifacts, is one of the unique tales of survival to come out of the Holocaust.

30 min. AGE: 12 to Adult

741.9

FROM BITTER EARTH: ARTISTS OF THE HOLOCAUST (n.d.)

Fascinating BBC documentary about Jewish artists during the Holocaust that includes interviews with actual surviving artists. The artists talk about their experiences during the war while their drawings, which depict life in the ghettos and concentration camps, are shown on screen. Over 30,000 drawings and paintings have survived ghettos, camps and hiding places. Some were hidden in holes in the ground, cavities in the walls or smuggled out. Although most of the artists were murdered, some survived and gave testimony in this film. Many of them were forced to create art for the Nazis. Sections of the film deal with lives of artists who were partisans, as well as artists in Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Dachau. Note: A few of the interviews are in foreign languages without subtitles. As their drawings are shown on screen while they speak, this is not terribly distracting to the viewer. Some images are graphic in nature, and testimony may be disturbing.

65 min.  AGE:  14 to Adult

920

GREAT JEWISH ACHIEVERS (2002)

Created to instill Jewish pride, this film highlights some of the great achievements Jews have made in a wide variety of fields. The film is divided into five separate sections (listed below) showcasing a total of 425 Jewish achievers including diverse talents such as Albert Einstein, Sandy Koufax, Bob Dylan, Houdini and Levi Strauss. The sections can be shown independently or in groups, but it is not advised that the entire documentary be shown in one sitting. This lively and upbeat production utilizes two modern teenagers to narrate the documentary and provide brief commentary. Note: Great Jewish Achievers is ideal for classroom use or family education settings and may be used to stimulate further research into noteworthy Jews – or as a springboard for discussions on Jewish identity. Study guide available.

Part I:  Music, Art and Literature – 13 minutes.

Part II:  Stage, Screen and Television – 11 minutes.

Part III:  Business, Politics and Law – 9 minutes.

Part IV:  Great Jewish Athletes – 10 minutes.

Part V:  Inventions, Science and Medicine – 12 minutes.

56 min.  AGE:  11 to Adult

JHVC

759.7

HOMAGE TO CHAGALL: THE COLORS OF LOVE (1977)

Cha

Throughout his life, painter Marc Chagall drew upon his Jewish roots for inspiration. Born in tsarist Russia in 1887, Chagall derived much of his artistic sensibility from his shtetl childhood. In his 98 years, he painted hundreds of scenes from the Bible in a distinctive fairy-tale style—dreamy and unpretentious, with sublime color. Narrated by James Mason, Homage to Chagall celebrates the artist's life and work. An extensive interview with the artist and his wife at their home in Southern France reveals his deep affection for the poetry of the Bible, and his faith in the Jewish people. Throughout the film, we see hundreds of examples of Chagall's work, from paintings to stained glass windows.

1 hr. 30 min. AGE: Adult