7 p.m.
\nChestnut Hill College
\nSt. Joseph Hall\,
Redmond Room
Chestnut Hill College will show the film “Tak for Al
t” (Thanks for Everything in Danish). Judy Meisel\, Holocaust survivor\, c
ivil rights activist and subject of the documentary\, will speak after the
viewing.
\n“Tak for Alt” tells the story of Meisel\, whose experienc
es during World War II inspired a life-long campaign against racism. Conne
cting the Holocaust and the American civil rights movement\, “Tak for Alt”
opens with Meisel recalling news coverage of a 1963 race riot in Philadel
phia\, sparked by a black family\, the Bakers\, moving into an all-white n
eighborhood. Spurred by her memories of being removed from her home by Ger
man soldiers in Lithuania in 1938\, she baked some cookies and went visit
the Baker family\, beginning her own journey toward fighting for equality.
\n The ensuing film weaves archival material and location footage of
Meisel retracing her wartime experiences through Eastern Europe: working
slave labor in a Kovno Ghetto boot factory\, watching her mother disappear
into the Stutthof Concentration Camp gas chamber\, crawling across a froz
en river after fleeing a death march\, passing as a Catholic while working
for the Wermacht\, and finally escaping to Denmark\, 16 years old and wei
ghing forty-seven pounds.
\nUnlike many Holocaust films that end with
liberation in 1945\, “Tak for Alt” contextualizes these wartime events wi
thin Judy’\;s continuing work as a civil rights advocate and educator
\, utilizing her experiences as a means to combat bigotry and racism here
in the United States. The film underscores that the Holocaust is not just
an historical event or a Jewish issue. Acts of intolerance continue across
the world today\, impacting people of varying color\, religion\, politica
l affiliation\, and sexual orientation. Through the film\, Judy Meisel off
ers an example that one person can make a difference.
\nThe event is
free and open to the public. For more information\, please contact Marie C
onn\, Ph.D.\, chair of the department of religious studies\, philosophy\,
and the graduate program in holistic spirituality at 215.248.7044 or mconn
@chc.edu.