Holocaust survivor joins panel at 70th anniversary film screening
Holocaust survivor joins panel at 70th anniversary film screening
16/04/2015
‘Night Will Fall’ showing at Middlesex University marking anniversary of Nazi concentration camp liberation attended by Gena Turgel, 92
Gena Turgel, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, joined film director André Singer (second from right) and Kindertransport refugee Bernd Koschland (left) for a special screening of 'Night Will Fall' at Middlesex University last night.
Singer's powerful documentary, which features graphic images captured by British, American and Russian troops, was being screened to mark 70 years since Allied Forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps.
The emotional viewing was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Middlesex Professor of International Politics Brad Blitz (second from left) and joined by panellist Professor of Journalism Kurt Barling (right), who ten years ago visited Bergen-Belsen with Gena and her daughter for the BBC.
"It was a miracle I survived" - Gena Turgel
When asked by one of the more than 100 audience members just how she had survived the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, Gena described it as "a miracle".
But far from being bitter, she and local Hendon resident Bernd were keen to express their gratitude that they, unlike so many victims of the Nazis, were able to make it to Britain and build a new life for themselves – in Gena's case with one of her liberators, Norman, who she married within six
months of being rescued.
And all the panellists were in agreement that 'Night Will Fall' and other documentaries of its kind are essential for educating others about the dangers of intolerance and preserving living memory of the Nazi's crimes after Gena and her fellow survivors have gone.
Holocaust survivor joins panel at 70th anniversary film screening
Singer's powerful documentary, which features graphic images captured by British, American and Russian troops, was being screened to mark 70 years since Allied Forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps.
The emotional viewing was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Middlesex Professor of International Politics Brad Blitz (second from left) and joined by panellist Professor of Journalism Kurt Barling (right), who ten years ago visited Bergen-Belsen with Gena and her daughter for the BBC.
When asked by one of the more than 100 audience members just how she had survived the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, Gena described it as "a miracle".
But far from being bitter, she and local Hendon resident Bernd were keen to express their gratitude that they, unlike so many victims of the Nazis, were able to make it to Britain and build a new life for themselves – in Gena's case with one of her liberators, Norman, who she married within six months of being rescued.
And all the panellists were in agreement that 'Night Will Fall' and other documentaries of its kind are essential for educating others about the dangers of intolerance and preserving living memory of the Nazi's crimes after Gena and her fellow survivors have gone.