'Rescue in the Philippines' Coming to Southeast Michigan

The Holocaust Memorial Center, in partnership with StandWithUs Michigan, ADL Michigan, the Philippine American Foundation and the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, will present the documentary Rescue in the Philippines at 7 p.m. Wed., Sept. 30 at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts, 6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield.

The film, which will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion led by one of the film’s executive producers, tells the untold story of 1,200 Jews who escaped the Nazis by fleeing to the Philippines.

Directed by Russell Hodge and Cynthia Scott-Johnson, the one-hour documentary shares how the five Frieder brothers, Cincinnati businessmen making cigars in pre-WWII Manila, together with Manuel Quezon, the first president of the Philippines; Paul McNutt, U.S. High Commissioner and former governor of Indiana; and future President Dwight Eisenhower helped more than 1,000 Jews immigrate to the Philippines. Narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, it centers on the moral courage of these influential few in the days leading up to World War II.

In Rescue in the Philippines, Quezon’s grandson recalls that his openness to help desperate refugees came from a belief in human rights and the sanctity of life. The president would have welcomed a million Jews if there had not been red tape and barriers. In other interviews, individuals, who were babies when they arrived in this new country, recall a difficult life during the Japanese occupation.

At the event, guests may preview a panel which will honor the coordinators of the rescue. It will later be installed as part of the HMC’s permanent exhibit.

To purchase tickets, which are $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers, visit http://theberman.org/hmc or call 248-661-1900.

The event is being held with support from PNC Foundation, Susan and Nelson Hersh, Michael Liebowitz, Stephanie and Jared Miller, Aviva and Jack Robinson, Anita and Kenneth Volk and Lori and Steven Weisberg.

Below is a YouTube clip of the documentary.