By Kelly Taylor
kelly@wktv.org

In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wednesday, Jan. 27,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          WKTV will be showcasing three documentaries featuring stories of Jewish families who lived in Germany and surrounding countries during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

 

The day, established by the United Nations General, is the liberation anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where between 1.1 to 1.5 million people, most of them Jewish, died. On the annual day of commemoration, the UN encourages people to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides.

At noon, WKTV will be airing “Scattered Seeds.” This film tells the story of two Holocaust survivors who were hidden in Nazi-ruled Europe for several years until they migrated to the United States. Family and friends of these hidden children sacrificed their own fates in hope that one day they would get to live fruitful lives.

Following at 1 p.m., will be the documentary “The Locket.” Director Margaret Bilinsky relates the experiences of her family in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. A locket that belonged to an aunt who was killed in the Holocaust serves as a physical reminder of those who did not survive.

At 1:30 p.m., WKTV will air “Hidden Treasures,” a documentary that tells the story of five families and their efforts to smuggle family heirlooms and hidden treasures out of Germany and Poland during World War II.

All three documentaries may be seen on WKTV Channel 25 or can be live streamed at WKTV.org.