Arts & Entertainment
ON THE COVER
The Whole Truth
A man who uncovered the incredible story of his parents' bravery
demonstrates the lure of history and the pleasure of terrific nonfiction.
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
U
ntil Our Last Breath: A Holocaust
Story of Love and Partisan
Resistance by Michael Bart tells
the story of his parents, Leizer and Zenia,
who were part of the World War II resis-
tance group the Avengers:
Q: Did you ever suspect your parents might
once have led such unusual lives?
A: While I was growing up, my parents
did not speak often about their Holocaust
experiences. Either it was very painful for
them to speak about or they didn't want to
emotionally burden my brother and I with
the agony of their past.
However, my mom spoke often about
being born and raised in Vilna, a city she
More Nonfiction
Artfp4nperf. Av.
8:15 p.m. (WB): Abraham Foxman, The
Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the
Myth of Jewish Control
The Anti-Defamation League national
director and leader in the fight against
anti-Semitism takes on critics like for-
mer President Jimmy Carter who charge
that Israel has an all-powerful lobby with
a commanding influence on U. S. foreign
policy. (See more event information in
"Special Events" on page B14.)
Saturday,
8
8:30 p.m. (WB): Jeffrey Toobin, The
Nine: Inside the Secret World of the
Supreme Court
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin takes
readers inside the most important – and
secret – legal body in our country, the
Supreme Court, and reveals the complex
interactions among the nine men and
women who decide the law of the land.
(See more event information in "Special
Events" on page B14.)
5 p.m. (WB): Viktoria Hertling, Road to
Rescue: The Untold Story of Schindler's
List
Polish Jew Mietek Pemper was forced
to work as a stenographer for brutal
B20
October 30 e 2008
described as having won-
dad's life (1994-1996)
derful Jewish culture rich
when he began to tell me
with many synagogues (106
about my mom's losses,
prewar) and institutes of
and my mom told me
Jewish learning. She was
about my dad's losses.
very proud to be from Vilna.
This is when I began to
My dad spoke often about
ask many questions.
being one of the partisans
of Vilna with Abba Kovner,
Q: So many moments
whom my parents referred
in your parents' histories
to as "our commander." My
— when your mother
father was very proud to
escaped death — and
have been a mainline par-
in your own research
Michael Bart
tisan fighter whose assign-
— such as when you
ments were primarily the
discovered the picture of
sabotage and destruction
your parents with Abba
of Nazi trains. He knew his
Kovner — were extraor-
contributions were important in slowing the dinary, miraculous even. Do you feel differ-
transportation of supplies, fuel and troops.
ent about life after this experience?
It was only in the last two years of my
A: My life changed the day of my
A Holocaurt Story of Love
and Perritan
R
si.t a 13 c e
lad Lauer! Carona
camp commandant Amon Goth; he
bravely passed on private documents
to Oskar Schindler, which became the
basis for Schindler's lists and his rescue
of 1,200 Jewish prisoners during the
Holocaust.
7 p.m. (WB): Lawrence Malkin, Krueger's
Men: The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot
and the Prisoners of Block 19.
Former Time correspondent Malkin
recounts the true story of Jewish pris-
oners forced to produce counterfeit
British currency to sabotage the Allied
economy during World War II. After
an audience viewing of the Academy
Award-winning film The Counterfeiters,
based on his book, Malkin will discuss
how the events of the movie differ from
his book. (See more event information in
"Special Events" on page B14.)
8:15 p.m. (OP): Michael Wex, Just Say
Nu: Yiddish for Every Occasion (When
English Just Won't Do)
An exceptionally funny follow-up to
Born to Kvetch, Just Say Nu is a practi-
cal guide to using Yiddish words and
expressions in day-to-day situations.
7 p.m. (WB): Elinor Burkett, Golda
In a comprehensively researched
biography, Pulitzer Prize-nominated
Michael Bart speaks 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 9 (WB).
journalist Burkett portrays Israel's for-
mer prime minister as a woman whose
uncompromising commitment to the
State of Israel often got in the way of
her personal relationships.
Rosenberg, a sportswriter for the
Detroit Free Press, tracks how the Ohio
State and U-M football coaches pushed
their players to greatness while trying to
adjust to the social upheavals of the '70s.
Wednesday, Nov.
11:30 a.m. (WB): Andrew Meier, The Lost
Spy: An American in Stalin's Secret
Service
Cy Oggins was an American who con-
nected with the Communist Party in
1920, was drafted by the Soviets six
years later, became a spy and traveled
to Europe, pretending to be a scholar.
8:15 p.m. (WB): David Grubin, producer
of The Jewish Americans
The documentary (and its accompany-
ing book) chronicles 350 years of Jewish
life in America, beginning with the arriv-
al in 1654 of 23 Brazilian Jews; it is the
story of a tiny minority who struggled
to make their way into the American
mainstream while still maintaining their
identity as Jews.
10:30 a.m. (WB): Lisa Kogen, editor of
With Strength and Splendor: Jewish
Women as Agents of Change
Splendor highlights some of the most
extraordinary Jewish women from
the past two centuries, reflecting how
Jewish women disassembled old gender
roles, shattered boundaries and expand-
ed the options for future generations.
Sunday, Nov. to
Monday, Nov.
father's funeral in 1996, when an unidenti-
fied man told me to inscribe "Freedom
Fighter of Nekamah" on the headstone.
Shortly after the funeral, I began my
research. What I learned made me very
proud of my parents and of my Jewish
heritage. My father and other former par-
tisans said to me that they didn't think
they would survive the war; and they were
going to fight the Nazis for the honor of
their family and for the dignity of the
Jewish people.
"My parents made two pledges to each
other: to love each other and to fight the
Nazis. Their commitment was 'until our
last breath?" Li
10 a.m. (WB): Michael Rosenberg, War
As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo
Schembechler and America in a Time of
Unrest
1 p.m. (WB): Hank Rosenfeld, The Wicked
Wit of the West
Detroit native Hank Rosenfeld, a
journalist and NPR commentator, spent
six years with Irving Brecher, the mind
behind some of the greatest comedi-
ans, including Groucho Marx and Milton
Berle, in this show-biz history.
2 p.m. (OP): Andrew Meier (see above)
3 p.m. (WB): Rabbi Simcha Weinstein,
Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st
Century
Weinstein chronicles the movement
of Jewish comedians away from Borscht
Belt humor to a honest, irreverent style.
7 p.m. (OP): Simcha Weinstein (see above)