Filmmaker Kempner Speaks About
the Holocaust Resistance
Continued from Page I
Her father was an American
serviceman who had immigrated
from Lithuania to the U.S. before
the war. Many members of
Kempner’s family died in
German concentration camps.
Kempner’s father gave her a
Hebrew first name, Aviva,
because he wanted the triumph
of having a Hebrew name on a
German birth certificate.
Kempner moved to Detroit
with her family at age four.
Throughout most of her child
hood, Kempner knew nothing of
the Holocaust.
It was only through books that
she finally learned about the
tragedy. She said that by the mid
19705, she had a solid interest in
the Holocaust, but no scholarly
knowledge.
Kempner particularly noted
that the spirit of youth move
ments in the late 1960 s and 70s
was key in motivating her to
\eam about her past.
It was like a “bolt of light
ning,” Kempner saicP > '*fhere
really is something that I’ve
gotta do to find about this.”
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Eventually, her studies led her
to make a film about Jewish
resistance,
Kempner got some initial
funding from an uncle who was a
successful businessman and sur
vivor of Auschwitz. She got fur
ther funding from the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Making the film required a lot
of research and interviews with
surviving partisans from Vilna.
“What’s interesting,”
Kempner said, “is that the parti
sans all thought they were going
to die, but joining the resistance
they were making a choice about
how to die.”
According to Kempner, the
resistance in Vilna was notewor
thy for a number of reasons.
These include the fact that Vilna
was of eastern
European Jewry,’* a cultural cen
ter in Europe.
Vilna was particularly inter
esting because it was one of the
only movements that took place
in both the ghetto and the woods.
Other factors included that the
resistance there was led by poets
and artisans, some of the leaders
survived and could be inter-
viewed, and some of the greatest
resistance songs came out of
Kempner also talked about the
artistic challenges she faced in
making the movie. The first chal
lenge was finding appropriate
footage.
There was a temptation, she
said, to use German propaganda
footage of partisans, but she took
a moral stand against using it
because the people in the films
were later killed by the Germans.
Another challenge was that
many of the scenes needed to be
shot on location, but the movie
was being filmed before the fall
of Communism. Unfortunately,
Kempner and her crew were
denied access to Lithuania.
An artistic decision made
early by Kempner and co-direc
tor, Josh Waletzky, was to let the
partisans tell their stories in
Yiddish or Hebrew and use
English sub-titles. This helped
the partisans to feel more com
fortable telling their stories.
She considers it important to
present the moral dilemmas
faced by the partisans. “If we can
study these moral dilemmas,
maybe we can make a better
world,” Kempner said.
Kempner said that her mother
was very upset with her at first
for working on what was a taboo
subject. Kempner remembered
her mother asking, “Why are
doing this? This is my past.”
Eventually though,
Kempner’s mother softened her
objections and even saw the film.
One lesson that Kempner took
away from her experience is that
it is very important to preserve
oral histories. She urged the
audience to draw on their own
oral histories and backgrounds
and tell their stories in order to
preserve them.
“I’m writing history by mak
ing film,” Kempner told her
audience. Kempner is currently
promoting her film The Life and
Times of Hank Greenberg.
Greenberg was the first Jewish
baseball star.
When asked about future pro
jects, Kempner said she may do a
film about Fredrick Law
Olmsted, the designer of Central
Park in New York City, a feature
on great rabbis of the 20th centu
ry, or a film about the devastat
ing effects of alcohol on
American Indians.
CAMPUS POLICE REPORT
April 8, 2000
11:39 p.m.: Assisted Middletown
P.D. with traffic control for a
vehicle accident at Main and Vine
Sts.
April 10, 2000
12 p.m.: A citation was issued for
a moving violation on College
Avenue.
12:10 p.m.: A citation was issued
for a moving violation on Route
230 before the plaza.
3:02 p.m.: Hit and run accident. A
vehicle was struck on the driver’s
side while parked in the rear park
ing lot.
7:43 p.m.: Received a report on an
insect infestation at a residence on
Weaver Ave. Attempted numerous
times to contact housing via
phone and pager without success.
April 11, 2000
10:30 a.m.: Provided background
information to a U.S. Treasury
Dept, investigator regarding a for
mer employee for employment
purposes.
8:34 p.m.: Assisted Lower
Swatara P.D. with a theft investi
gation involving a PSH student.
The suspect, a Meade Heights res
ident, stole the chicken sign from
Harry’s Hot Wings.
April 12, 2000
11:02 p.m.: Assisted Middletown
P.D. with a fight at Water and Pine
Sts.
April 16, 2000
9:40 a.m.: Received a report of a
vehicle on fire on Olmsted Dr. at
Susquehanna Bldg. Lower
Swatara F.D. extinguished the fire
and the vehicle was towed.
11:45 p.m.: Received a report of
an unknown person downloading
inappropriate materials onto the
computer in the honors lounge.
April 17, 2000
10:58 a.m.: A citation was issued
for a speed-related moving viola
tion on Route 230 west of College
Avenue.
11:15 a.m.: A citation was issued
for a speed-related moving viola
tion on College Avenue.
By Matthew McKeown
Capital Times Editor
8:40 p.m.: Follow-up investiga
tion. Spoke with an individual in
regards to the theft of the chicken
from Harry’s Hot Wings.
7:30 p.m.: The elevators in
Olmsted Bldg, and the library
malfunctioned. The manufacturer
and M&O notified.
10:30 p.m.: A police warning
notice was verified for a student.
11 p.m.: Received a report of stu
dents refusing to leave W 305
Olmsted Bldg. Found the lab
open and student workers gone.
The students were ordered to
leave.
10:32 a.m.: A citation was issued
for a moving violation on
University Drive at Alumni.
12:40 p.m.: Theft: Stereo equip
ment was removed from a vehicle
at Olmsted Bldg.
3 p.m.: Theft: Stereo equipment
was taken from a vehicle at
Olmsted Bldg.
4 p.m.: Weaver and Rosedale
were closed for a gas leak as per
Lower Swatara.
5:55 p.m.: A citation was issued
for a moving violation on College
Avenue.
9 p.m.: Recovery of stolen prop
erty. Property recovered and
returned to owner. Case closed. In
reference to the stolen chicken
from Harry’s Hot Wings.
12:05 a.m.: Institutional vandal
ism. Report of a large hole in the
wall of room 202 C in the library.
12:56 a.m.: Report of loud music
near a residence on Mars Drive. A
warning was given.
1:54 a.m.: Assisted Lower
Swatara P.D. with a fight at
Shane’s Flight Deck.
2:34 a.m.: Received a report of
persons being loud on Weaver
Avenue. Warnings were given.
6 a.m.: Theft of sign. “Caution
Pedestrian Crossing” sign is miss
ing from Penn State Way.
April 18, 2000
April 19, 2000
April 20, 2000