CNN documentary FINAL release_Final.docx

Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2015 – USC Shoah Foundation and USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism will present an advance screening on Jan. 15 of “Voices of Auschwitz,” a new CNN documentary telling the stories of four survivors from the Nazi German Concentration and extermination camp. The hour-long special is hosted by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, himself the son of Holocaust survivors.

The 6 p.m. event at the newly opened Wallis Annenberg Hall is free and open to the public.

“Voices of Auschwitz” will air nationally on Jan. 27 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation.

The USC screening will be followed by a half-hour panel discussion featuring two CNN producers. Stephen Smith, executive director of USC Shoah Foundation, will moderate.

The two panelists are Leora Kapelus, executive producer; and Jennifer Hyde, director of development for CNN productions.

The four survivors who recount their harrowing stories all lost loved ones to the Holocaust, and all became successful later in life. They are:

• Eva Kor, who along with her twin sister was subjected to medical experiments led by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Later in life, she generated widespread attention for publicly forgiving the Nazis.
• Renee Firestone, whose talent as an aspiring designer helped her survive the atrocities. Afterward, she thrived as a fashion designer.
• Martin Greenfield, who learned the tailoring trade in the camp, and went on to become a master tailor out of New York whose clients include U.S. Presidents and celebrities.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a musician who was recruited to play cello in the Auschwitz orchestra. She later co-founded the British Chamber Orchestra.

All four survivors have given testimony to USC Shoah Foundation. Their audiovisual interviews are among the 51,000-plus testimonies housed in the Institute’s Visual History Archive.

 

What: Advance screening of “Voices of Auschwitz” and panel discussion with producers

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15

Where: Wallis Annenberg Hall, Room 105A

Address: 3630 Watt Way; Los Angeles, CA; 90089-0281

Sponsors: USC Shoah Foundation and USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Cost: Free

RVSP: rkuznia@usc.edu

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About USC Shoah Foundation
USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education is dedicated to making audio- visual interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, a compelling voice for education and action. The Institute’s current collection of more than 53,000 eyewitness testimonies contained within its Visual History Archive preserves history as told by the people who lived it, and lived through it. Housed at the University of Southern California, within the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Institute works with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, to provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies for educational purposes.