The Righteous at Singer's Warsaw Festival
Over the past fourteen years, the Singer's Warsaw Jewish Cultural Festival has carried out its mission of restoring the memory of pre-war Jewish Varshe (Warsaw), about which Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote his stories and novels. Participants in past festivals have learned about the richness of Jewish culture through various forms of expression – theatre, film, dance, literary gatherings, the Yiddish language, lectures, the visual arts, music and exhibitions. The most outstanding artists from Poland and from around the world have taken part. This year's Festival will run from 28th August to 2nd September 2018.
This year's Festival rich program includes events linked to the Righteous Among the Nations.
29th August, 5:00pm, Austrian Cultural Forum: a screening of the ducumentary film “Gerechte Unter Den Völkern Ella Lingens – Die Macht Der Entscheidung” [The Righteous Among the Nations – the Power of Decision], dir. Mena Scheuba-Tempfer (Austria 2015, 47 min.)
Viennese lawyer and doctor Ella Lingens (1908–2002) helps Jews in the Third Reich and, as a result, ends up in the Auschwitz concentration camp. After her release, she becomes active in spreading information about the crimes of the National Socialists. Mena Scheuba-Tempfer's film features “Ella's voice”. Actor Claudia Kottal reads original excerpts, reports and records written by Ella Lingens. Ella's son, Peter Michael Lingens, a journalist, shares his memories of his mother. The historical context is deepened through interviews with experts Danielle Spera, Hannah Lessing, Herwig Hösele, historian Michael John and with representatives of Yad Vashem. The film is part of the Righteous Among the Nations series of documentaries. The four films present the extraordinary events in the lives of people who helped Jews and rescued them during the National Socialist period. It confirms that courage and compassion are always possible – even in the most dramatic of times.
31st August, 4:30pm, Austrian Cultural Forum: a meeting with Righteous Among the Nations Łucja Jurczak, Wanda Turczyńska-Kołomijska, Leszek Szulc, Krystyna Wiśniewska.
Moderator: Jan Ordyński
The Polish Association of the Righteous Among the Nations is comprised of Poles who have been honoured by the State of Israel for saving Jews. The Association's aim is to not only remember those Poles who extended help to their Jewish fellow-citizens, but also to spread knowledge about the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust and to fight antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance where it exists around the world.
2nd September, 11.00am: An educational walk “Traces of Irena Sendler”
Leader: Olga Szymańska
The biography of Irena Sendler, the most recognisable Polish Righteous, goes beyond schematic descriptions. Her personality and life decisions, especially their post-War reception, evoke extreme emotions, This educational walk will be an opportunity to understand her biography, the sources of her moral attitude and motivation which led her to rescue children from the Warasw ghetto.
The event is organised by the Jewish Historical Institute.
