Film Screening: The Mystery of The Black Book
Stalin wanted to prevent this book from being published. Why was it so dangerous in his eyes? Boris Maftsir’s new film examines the story of the Black Book, which, if it had been published, would have changed for all of us the way we perceive the Holocaust, modern antisemitism and Jewish life in the Soviet Union.
In October 1947, the “Black Book” was to be published in Moscow – a collection of testimonies and articles about the murder of two million and seven hundred thousand Jews under Nazi occupation in the Soviet Union. The book was shelved by the authorities, as if the Holocaust of Soviet Jews had never occurred at all. Why did Stalin decide to hide the solid and documented evidence of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union? Did Soviet Jewry’s enthusiasm on the establishment of the State of Israel cause collective punishment against them by the government? Since the revolution, Soviet Jews had been considered loyal partners in the building and administration of the Soviet Union. Why and how did they become suspects of dual loyalty, potential traitors, and second class citizens?
Join us, at The Pump House in Watford, for a drinks reception and screening of The Mystery of the Black Book followed by an exclusive Q&A with the Director, Boris Maftsir.
Tickets are £22.50 and include one free drink. Email [email protected] now to secure your place!
This event has been kindly made possible by Betty Litchfield in memory of her husband, Stephen Gavin Litchfield 1924-2019
Date
- 23 Mar 2022
- Expired!
Time
GMT- 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Cost
- £22.50
More Info
Location
- The Pump House, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 2JP, United Kingdom
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Website
https://pumphouse.info/
Speakers
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Boris MaftsirDirectorBorn in Riga, Latvia In 1970, Boris was arrested by the KGB and was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of Zionist activity. He eventually immigrated to Israel in 1971 and went on to graduate as part of the first graduating class of the Department of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University. For years Boris worked as a producer in the Israeli film Service and from 1994 to 1999 he was the Service manager. In 2009 Boris founded and (until 2014) managed the documentary film department at the Haifa WIZO Academic Center. In recent years he has been working exclusively on a documentary project on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union.
Boris has produced over 200 documentary films and television documentaries and has directed over 30 films. Here is a partial list:
The Mystery of the Black Book. The road to Babi Yar (2018) – Holocaust in Ukraine. Drawers of memory (2017) – Holocaust in Latvia. Gotenland (2017) – Holocaust in Crimea. Until the last step (2016) – about Jewish resistance in small ghettos in Belorussia. Beyond the Nistru (2016) – about Holocaust in Soviet territories under Romanian occupation. Holocaust. The Eastern front (2016) – about Holocaust in Russian fed. territory. The Guardians of Remembrance (2014) – about Holocaust in Belorussia.
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Debra BrunnerCEODebra has been working in Belarus for over ten years and is a passionate advocate for Jewish community, history, heritage and identity. Debra has worked tirelessly to grow The Together Plan in order to give agency to Jewish people coming out of a traumatic past, to empower them and give them skills and self-belief to rebuild and revive. It is Debra’s mantra that together we can make a real and positive difference for a better, stronger and more cohesive Jewish landscape in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.