Welcome to the 20th issue of Teaching the Legacy. This edition focuses on the subject of teaching the Holocaust through film. The e-newsletter includes a main article on this theme, as well as two pieces on Holocaust films and how to look at them with an eye toward education. As always, the newsletter features new publications, book reviews, and updates on recent and upcoming activities at the International School for Holocaust Studies and across Yad Vashem. We hope you find this issue interesting and resourceful and we look forward to your feedback.
Reel Witnesses: A New Type of Holocaust Testimony
"Valkyrie" - Director: Bryan Singer
Director: Bryan Singer
USA-Germany, 2008/ English and German / 121 minutes
Valkyrie, the 2008 film directed by Bryan Singer, is a deftly executed historical thriller that succeeds in faithfully depicting an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler and implement a coup of the German government. Focused almost exclusively around the conspirators and the events of July 20th, 1944, the movie condenses or glosses over background and motivation, as dramatic movies must, to maintain the forward momentum of the story. This article will attempt to illuminate some of the...
"The Illegals" - Director: Meyer Levin
Director: Meyer Levin
Eretz Israel (British Mandatory Palestine), 1947
English, Hebrew, Yiddish / 72 minutes (B&W)
This 1947 film addresses illegal immigration into Palestine after the Holocaust when survivors tried to reach a new home. This review examines the film and its importance in using it in the classroom.
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