31 March 2010

Southern California: "Hitler's Hidden Holocaust," April 11

A special screening of "Hitler's Hidden Holocaust," is the program for Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) at a meeting co-sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County, and Temple Adat Elohim, on Sunday, April 11.

The event begins at 1.30pm at Temple Adat Elohim, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

The documentary is a production of the National Geographic Channel and the American Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Services.

Before the death camps were the killing fields - mass graves of executed men, women and children. The Einsatzgruppen (German word meaning action–groups) became an organized killing machine, roaming through Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, murdering an estimated 1.5 million Jews and partisans, prior to the establishment of concentration camps. The Einsatzgruppen were created to combat those considered hostile to the Reich, including Jews, Communists,and others.

Father Patrick Desbois, author of Holocaust by Bullets, (the story of discovering mass gravesites of Jews exterminated in the Ukraine) is shown interviewing people in the FSU to gather information about the mass killings. The documentary is woven together with harrowing testimonials from survivors, witnesses and experts with rare video footage.

Following the screening, American Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Services-Ventura Chapter's Bob Rich will address the tracing services which research the fate of loved ones missing since the Holocaust and its aftermath. The ARC assists US residents searching for information on themselves, family members, and friends regarding: proof of internment, forced/slave labor, or evacuation from Europe and the former Soviet territories. These services are free and involve partner organizations worldwide.

There is no charge to attend.

For more information and directions, visit the JGSCV site.

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