Israel Movie Night
“We Were So Beloved” (1986)
Monday, January 22, 7:30 PM
146 minutes

Between 1933 and 1941, thousands of Jews fled Nazi Germany and Austria for America. Leaving behind brothers, sisters, and parents, more than 20,000 German and Austrian Jews came together in Washington Heights in New York City, representing the largest German
Jewish settlement in the world. The area's large cheap apartments overlooking the river were an attraction to a population that came to America penniless, but with middle-class tastes, furniture, and clothing.

While horrific reports trickled in from the camps, the emigrants cooperated to build their new society. Washington Heights became a German Jewish enclave dubbed "Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson" by those who lived there. Convening on street corners or in cafes for hours, speaking German and forming their own social clubs, the Jews of Washington Heights created an environment that has enhanced the neighborhood's culture to the present day.

Like “Shoah” and “Sorrow and the Pity”, “We Were So Beloved” uses gripping personal testimony to examine the complex emotional and philosophical implications of the survival of the Jews of Washington Heights. Written and directed by Manfred Kirchheimer, who was brought to this country in 1936, at the age of 5, the film features members of his family and friends who were among those able to leave Germany and settled in Washington Heights.

Sponsored by the Israel Committee.
Pizza, pop, popcorn, and chips will be served.