History Lesson
Documentary reveals striking similarities of shameful period in history to the present
BY STEPHEN VRATTOS
Photos by Dawn Steinberg More than three hundred
residents and guests
filled the Towers Cinema
Sunday evening, November 4, for a
special screening of the documentary
“Above the Drowning Sea.”
Sponsored by UJA Federation, the
film chronicles the dramatic flight
of Austrian Jews to Shanghai on
the brink of World War II, in order
to escape Nazi persecution. It is
a slice of history little told, but no
less important, more so today with
Anti-Semitism and bigotry on the rise
and the ethical—humane—treatment
of refugees/immigrants a concept,
which has once again become anathema
throughout the globe.
Heightening the poignancy of the
event and unbeknownst to many
North Shore Towers residents was
the knowledge several of their
neighbors were participants in this
significant historic event, including
audience member Ted Baron,
who spoke about his experiences
after the screening. He joined special
guest Writer/Director Nicola
Zavaglia onstage for an interview
conducted by Board Member Fred
Chernow, who also fielded a few
questions from the audience.
The night, however, began with
an introduction by longtime UJA
supporter and beloved resident
Eneas Arkawy. Nearly overcome
with emotion from the vicious murders
in the Tree of Life Synagogue
a scant two weeks before, she bid
the audience rise for a deserved
moment of silence. The horrific
similarity of the attack and the hate
which fueled it to that displayed in
“Above the Drowning Sea” was not
lost on attendees. “I feel I’ve been
transported to Nazi Germany,” she
said. “We all know we are strong
people applause and we will
overcome.”
In response UJA started the
Pittsburgh Solidarity Fund, collecting
donations for psychological
services, support for the families,
medical bills, reconstruction and
security, as well as providing
professional help to aid children
in processing this tragedy. Most
important, 100% of funds collected
go toward help the victims and the
Pittsburgh community.
Arkawy spoke of the good UJA
has always performed, includes
raising funds to care for Holocaust
survivors, whose needs only
increase exponentially as they age.
“Not only do survivors carry the
natural effects of aging, but they
are compounded by the physical,
emotional and psychological abuse
suffered at the hands of the Nazis,
such as malnutrition.”
UJA’s Community Initiative
for Holocaust Survivors (CIHS)
funds critical services such as case
management, mental-health care,
socialization opportunities, and
end-of-life care to help survivors
live with independence, comfort,
and dignity. 100% of funds will
be used to help the Holocaust
Survivors.
Another important aspect of
UJA’s fine achievements is their
Project Witness program, which
introduces young people to survivors,
who pass their stories on, so
they are never forgotten. “UJA will
never forget or abandon its mission
to teach a new generation of witnesses,”
explained UJA Holocaust
Committee member Randee Paston,
who spoke about the program with
her daughter, Jaclyn, one of the students
whose class was selected for
Project Witness.
The documentary followed, a
beautifully executed and engrossing
film, which deftly wove archival
footage and commentary with
interviews from survivors, perhaps
the most moving of which was the
ultimate meeting of Jewish survivor
Vera Sasson with childhood friend
Zhou Huizhen, whose father treated
Sasson as his own in Shanghai,
where Sasson fled with her family
from Vienna sixty years earlier.
Nary an audience member moved
and audible expressions of shock
and sadness could be heard intermittently
throughout.
Chernow, who is known for his
popular monthly 92nd Street Y
program in the VIP Room, handled
the interview of Zavaglia and Baron
with his usual aplomb. Though not
technically one of the Austrian
refugees spoken of in “Above the
Drowning Sea,” Baron’s mother
fled Russia, while his father fled
Poland, both ending up in a village
north of Manchuria, where they
met. He was born and raised in the
town of Tianjin, the biggest attraction
of which, according to Baron,
“was a club, called Kunst, where
people played chess and bingo on
the weekends. When you have very
little money you get off the train at
the first major city you come to,”
he explained when asked why his
parents didn’t settle in Shanghai.
Zavaglia revealed his inspiration
for the documentary came from “If
This Is a Man,” the 1947 memoir
of Italian Jewish writer Primo Levi.
On making the film, he cited a
peculiar communication problem
with supervising producer. “I never
found out there was a driver and
a professional translator awaiting
me in Shanghai. So I went around
on foot or taxi. Eventually, when
I met this young woman at the
Jewish Refugee Museum, who
spoke English and was interested
in helping me out, I hired her on the
spot. As it turned out ‘Daisy’ proved
to be much more than a translator,
and through her contacts, I found
some of the most interesting people
we interviewed for the film. So I
guess it was a bit of luck I never got
to meet the professional translator,
for I would never have met Daisy
who proved to be so crucial to the
making of this film.”
(l. to r.) Ted Baron, Special Projects Chair Bob Ricken, Writer/Director
Nicola Zavaglia, Eneas Arkway and Board Member Fred Chernow
NST resident Joanne Gordon (right) speaks with Writer-Director
Zavaglia (center). Gordon's mother fled from Austria to Shanghai,
where she met her father. 10 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ December 2018