Dana Cohen and Kitty Saks, Holocaust survivors featured in the documentary, What We Carry.
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater partnered with Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach to host an encore presentation of the 63-minute documentary, What We Carry (in its entirety), on Jan. 6.
Featuring the stories of local Holocaust survivors Dana Cohen, Kitty Saks, David Katz* and Hanns Loewenbach,* the documentary was produced by the Holocaust Commission as part of a larger educational program of the same name.
An audience of nearly 250 people gathered at the synagogue to watch the film, meet Cohen and Saks, and hear remembrances from Katz’s son, Sam, and Loewenbach’s granddaughter, Rachel Becker.
Both Katz and Loewenbach passed away in January 2012, and the Holocaust Commission held the screening as a way to honor the lasting legacies of their bravery and dedication to sharing their stories of survival with others.
Alicia Friedman welcomes the audience of more than 200 people.
The film is rarely shown in this 63-minute version; usually, it is broken up into four mini-documentaries, with only one story featured as part of a docent-led presentation designed to educate students, civic groups and military audiences.
The full-length What We Carry documentary premiered locally in March 2012 to a standing room only crowd of more than 850 at TCC’s Roper theater in Norfolk. It will be featured on DIRECTV’s Jewish Life Television channel 366 beginning on Feb. 6.
*of blessed memory
by Laine M. Rutherford