November 2021

Commemorating the 83rd Anniversary of Kristallnacht

admin@HKHTC2021-11-12T10:39:07+08:00Tags: HKHTC|

On the evening of November 9, together with March of the Living, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre commemorated the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht with a message of unity and hope through a unique international campaign.

Titled “Let There Be Light,” March of the Living invited individuals, institutions, and houses of worship around the world to keep their lights on during the night of November 9 as a symbol of solidarity and mutual commitment in the shared battle against antisemitism, racism, hatred, and intolerance. As part of this virtual initiative, people from all over the world were able to add their voices to the campaign. Individuals of all religions and backgrounds were also invited to write personal messages of hope in their own words at the campaign website:

https://kristallnacht.motl.org

Meanwhile, please visit a special page on Yad Vashem’s website which features interviews, testimony, and photos on the terrible events of Kristallnacht in 1938:

https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/kristallnacht/index.asp

This year, through HKHTC’s strengthened global partnership with Yad Vashem, we will leverage our unique Holocaust education approach and reach thousands more across Asia — including educators and students in Japan and Indonesia. As always, HKHTC continues to be very active teaching about the Holocaust in partnership with local Hong Kong schools, universities, and community organisations. Thank you again for your interest and support. We sincerely hope you can join us at our future events. Please stay tuned for more details.

HKHTC-supported Holocaust Films @ Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival 2021

admin@HKHTC2021-12-15T19:06:31+08:00Tags: HKHTC|

The Hong Kong Holocaust & Tolerance Centre was pleased to support a number of Holocaust-themed films as part of the 22^nd Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival taking place 13-21 November 2021.

These public screenings took place in person at Asia Society Hong Kong Center at 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty. Please see the list below for film descriptions. It was a great delight to see many of you this year. We hope to see you again in HKJFF 2022.

Supported Films 2021

Love It Was Not (Sunday, 14 November, 6:45pm)

Flamboyant and in the prime of her life, Helena Citron is taken to Auschwitz as a young woman and finds unlikely solace under the protection of Franz Wunsch, a high-ranking SS officer who falls in love with her and her magnetic singing voice. Risking certain execution if caught, their forbidden relationship went on until her liberation in 1945. When a letter arrives thirty years later from Wunsch’s wife, begging Helena to testify on Wunsch’s behalf, she is faced with an impossible decision. Will she help the man who brutalised so many lives, but saved hers?

Link to trailer here.

The Auschwitz Report (Monday, 15 November, 7:00pm)

The Auschwitz Report follows Freddy and Valér, two Slovakian Jewish men on their agonizing attempt to escape the concentration camp. Each day they watch, count, and document the number of prisoners delivered to the camp, as well as the daily death toll, in order compile a detailed report about the systematic genocide they witness at the camp. Starving and injured, the brave pair escape and forge ahead to deliver their proof of rampant genocide to leaders of the Red Cross. However, with Nazi propaganda and international liaisons still in place, their allies are reluctant to believe their account. A harrowing film based on true events that will leave audiences forever changed.

Link to trailer here.

Muranów (Sunday, 21 November, 5:45pm)

The flourishing area of Muranów in Warsaw was once a place of hardship and death – it housed the Warsaw ghetto. Today, it is a spacious green neighbourhood built out from the rubble of the war. The Polish residents claim that Jewish ghosts live in Muranów and wander the streets they once lived in. Some believe the ghosts are literal – while others regard them in metaphorical terms, serving as a reminder of the life, culture and traditions of the Jewish people who are buried beneath the ground.

Link to trailer here.