| Summer 2010, No. 49 |
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ContentsPlans for New Allied Healthcare Education Center in Mount Airy Announced Charnock Elected Chair of the Board of Trustees Brown Appointed Dean of Business, Mathmatics, and Sciences Documentary Filmmakers Visit Carroll Community College College Receives National Recognition for Community Service Internships Give Students Real-World View of the Criminal Justice System
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Documentary Filmmakers Visit Carroll Community College
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Carroll Community College Adjunct Professor Tom Hockstra loves the gleam in his students' eyes when they are transfixed by true stories from the history books. He also notices their sad expressions when they hear of the atrocities that marked certain periods of world history. Hockstra teaches "History 201-01: Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich." It is his mission to educate new generations of students about the Holocaust and its survivors—one class at a time. Lukas Stepanik and Bernadette Wegenstein are the directors/producers of the documentary film Wien-Baltimore. They are also on a mission. Stepanik and Wegenstein are capturing on film the story of a local Holocaust survivor and the impact on today's generation. The documentary is non-fiction with a twist and it answers one central question: What does the Holocaust and the life story of Viennese Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz mean to youth in the Baltimore area today? A recent visit to Hockstra's classroom provided answers to the question as students became engaged in learning about the rise and fall of one of the world's most villainous regimes. "We chose to do this documentary because one day Holocaust survivors will no longer be with us. They are passing away," said Wegenstein. "It is important to capture their stories. Today's youth represent the third and sometimes fourth generation after the Holocaust. We know well the traumatic impact of the Holocaust on the children of survivors. This third generation of young people are the grandchildren of survivors. They are reliving the trauma in a new and sometimes liberating way. The children filmed in the different Baltimore County and Baltimore City schools, both private and public, have different socio-economic backgrounds and go to school in both diverse and homogenous classrooms. What captures their attention about Leo's and similar stories? How do they encounter Leo in their own unique ways?" Leo Bretholz is now a resident of Pikesville, Md. He witnessed Hitler's annexation of Vienna, escaped from Nazi-occupied France, and jumped from a deportation train from Drancy to Auschwitz. The survivor who bravely escaped becoming a victim of the Holocaust set his roots in Maryland. He has been successful at creating a new life here. Bretholz is also the author of Leap into Darkness and a frequent international lecturer. He presented his life story during a lecture at Carroll Community College on April 7, 2010. The lecture was part of Holocaust Remembrance Month. Leo's story is gripping and harrowing. When Hockstra retells it in history class, the story takes on a new life through the impressions formed in the minds of students. Wien-Baltimore directors/producers visited Hockstra's class as part of a tour of area schools teaching about the Holocaust. They filmed the entire presentation by Bretholz on April 7 to show community support for remembering the Holocaust. The directors/producers also took footage during Holocaust Survivor Days at Perry Hall High School, the John Carroll School, and other areas schools. They visited the "Survivors of Baltimore Social Club," as well as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The documentary should be completed by the end of 2010. It will be distributed to cinemas, film festivals, through television, and DVD in the U.S. and abroad. Stepanik is from Austria. He has made twenty films; Gebirtig was the Austrian nominee for the Oscars in 2003. Wegenstein is a professor at The Johns Hopkins University. She has produced and directed the documentary Made Over in America.
Adjunct professor Tom Hockstra and Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz.
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