For information only - not an official document
UNIS/INF/472
28 January 2013
VIENNA, 28 January 2013 (UN Information Service) - The United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna will honour the heroic actions of diplomats who showed moral courage and integrity to help save the lives of Jews during the Second World War with the opening of the exhibition "Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats", and the screening of the award-winning documentary film "The Rescuers", followed by a panel discussion.
The exhibition "Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats" is organized in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Vienna and dedicated to diplomats who risked their lives, and often their careers, to save Jews from annihilation during the Nazi Holocaust by granting them exit and transit visas. It features the dramatic stories of diplomats from countries including Sweden, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Holy See, Germany, Great Britain, Turkey, China, Portugal, and Japan. These stories collectively may constitute the largest rescue of Jews and refugees during the Holocaust - more than 200,000 Jewish lives were saved by diplomats. The exhibit is based on original photographs collected from the families of the diplomats, eyewitness accounts by survivors and original government records.
The presentation of the film "The Rescuers" is organized in partnership with this human world film festival as part of the monthly Ciné-ONU Vienna film screenings, which also highlights the 2013 theme of "Rescue during the Holocaust: The Courage to Care". The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.
Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael King and produced by Joyce D. Mandell, "The Rescuers" takes the viewer on a journey to examine how the Holocaust unfolded in several countries in Europe.
The story is told through the eyes of Stephanie Nyombayire, a Rwandan anti-genocide activist who lost members of her family in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and pre-eminent historian Sir Martin Gilbert who lost family members in the Holocaust. As they travel across 15 countries and three continents interviewing survivors and descendants of the rescuers, Ms. Nyombayire and Mr. Gilbert explore the mystery of goodness in the face of danger.
Representatives of the Media are invited to:
Opening of the exbhibiton "Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats"
Monday 28 January 2013 at 12:00 at the Vienna International Centre (VIC)
The screening of "The Rescuers"
Monday 4 February 2013 at 18:30 at Topkino (Rahlgasse 1, 1060 Vienna)
***
About the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme was established by General Assembly resolution 60/7 in 2006 to further education about and remembrance of the Holocaust to help prevent future acts of genocide. Its multifaceted programme includes online and print educational products, seminars, exhibitions, a film series and the annual worldwide observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust each 27 January. Please visit: http://www.un.org/holocaustremembrance .
* *** *
Admission to the events is open to the public and free-of-charge.
To register for the screening,
please send an email to
press@unvienna.org by 1 February 2013
For further information on the events, please contact:
Irene
Hoeglinger-Neiva
Public Information Officer
United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna
Tel: (+43-1) 26060-4448
Mobile: (+43) 699-1459-4448
E-Mail: irene.hoeglinger-neiva[at]unvienna.org
