'Our Greatest
Generation'
Survivor's voice included in film
focusing on Detroiters in WWII.
F
or many years, Sam Offen, a survivor of slave
labor, ghetto confinement and concentration
camp horrors of World War II, has shared his
story of survival with school groups, the local Holocaust
Memorial Center and in his book, When Hope Prevails.
Now, on Dec. 13, he will be part of a 90-minute docu-
mentary debuting on the big screen in a public premiere
at Detroit's Fox Theatre. The film is dedicated to the men
and women of Metro Detroit who make up, as the film's
title implies, Detroit: Our Greatest Generation.
Offen of West Bloomfield is just one of several local
residents who lend their experiences to explain, via the
film, to future generations the important role that World
War II has played in Detroit's history as well as the city's
impact on the war itself.
Born in Krakow, Poland, Offen remembers the radio
broadcasts of September 1939 and the day that Germany
invaded Poland. Though he and his family had heard
what the Germans were doing to Jewish prisoners, the
family had no means of leaving the country.
Offen watched his neighborhood turn into a confined
ghetto in 1941; he, his brothers Nathan and Bernard and
their father were recruited by the Germans as forced
laborers. Just a couple of years later, the men were deport-
ed to Plaszow and separated from their mother and sister
who were sent to an extermination camp.
Later in 1945, Sam Offen was transferred to Gusen I, a
sub-camp of Mauthausen, by cattle car with his brother
Sam Offen with one of his liberators, Donald
Montgomery. The men were reunited after nearly 50
years and realized they live only a few miles from each
other.
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December 10 • 2009
Nathan. His brother Bernard and his father were sent to
Auschwitz; his father would never return. Remarkably,
Sam and Nathan remained together throughout the war
and were liberated by American soldiers on May 5, 1945.
"You could see the faces of the American GIs when they
liberated the camp',' he said. "They could not believe what
they saw. They did not know they were liberating a con-
centration camp. If they had come only a few days later, I
would not be here. I literally owe them my life:'
The two brothers searched for survivors. Soon after the
war, they were reunited with their brother Bernard, but
of the 50-70 members of Sam's immediate and extended
family, he found no other survivors.
For Detroit: Our Greatest Generation, directed and pro-
duced by local filmmaker Keith Famie, Offen shares his
experiences within the film and discusses the moment of
liberation in 1945, leading to his eventual emigration to
Metro Detroit in 1951.
"Liberation to me means that I was given a new life,"
he said. "It is because of my American liberators I want-
ed to become an American. These veterans started creat-
ing a new life for America and that is why this is such an
important project:'
Offen also has been selected as one of the introductory
speakers to the film. On behalf of Holocaust survivors, he
will offer his gratitude to all the World War II veterans who
were instrumental in his and the Jewish community's lib-
eration.
"In the film, we step into the lives of Sam Offen and
many other Holocaust survivors as they and their family
members explain the tortures of day-to-day life during the
Holocaust:' Famie said.
"Sam, in particular, helps us understand very clearly,
what it was like the day American GIs came into the con-
centration camps and liberated the prisoners from the
horrors they endured for years!"
Legendary Detroit broadcaster and military veteran
Sonny Eliot also shares his experiences in the film along
with several Jewish Metro Detroiters, who reflect on how
the war influenced the rest of their lives.
Detroit: Our Greatest Generation, as described by Famie,
captures the emotional realities of pre- and post-WWII
survivors of Detroit and how their lives impacted the city.
Famie's production company, Visionalist Entertainment
Productions, based in Wixom, has won eight Emmy
Awards for his previous films, which includes the Our
Story Of series.
The debut will open with a specially recorded message
from Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation and
NBC News special correspondent, who also speaks in the
film about Detroit's importance in the war effort.
The premiere event also will feature WJR's Paul W.
Smith as master of ceremonies and Mitch Ryder and
Sam Offen has written a book about his Holocaust
experiences.
Stewart Francke performing with the United States 338th
Army Band in a special soundoff to each branch of the
current military. The event includes a special Andrews
Sisters revue and the Cornerstone Concert Choir singing
the national anthem.
The film benefits the Michigan Chapter of the Paralyzed
Veterans of America and the Yankee Air Museum, Belleville.
Tickets are available for $23 and $33 through Ticketmaster
or at the Fox Box Office. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
A one-hour version of the film will be shown on WDIV-
TV in Detroit, with no commercial interruption, at 8 p.m.
Dec. 16 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 25. II
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