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In honor of Yom HaShoah, The Palace Coral Gables will premiere a documentary, “I am Victor Raab,” as part of a Survivor Ceremony and Program on April 8.
In the poignant film, WWII survivor Raab shares the events of Kristallnacht, a violent riot against Jews carried out by the Nazi party. He was 15 years old living in Vienna, Austria, and to save his life, his parents put him on the “Kindertransport list,” the program that sent Austrian children to foster homes in London.
While recounting his story for a Kristallnacht commemorative program, Raab told the audience: “Teach your families, tell them about it. Let’s make sure we stay together. This should never happen again and we should never forget.”
These were similar reasons Shay Cohen, a portraiture and event photographer, wanted to document Raab’s story and brainstormed the idea with Raab and Pamela Parker, Social Director at The Palace Coral Gables.
“As an Israeli-born Jew, I grew up on Holocaust stories,” he explained. “It’s part of the school curriculum in Israel whether you are in elementary or high school. While I knew about this period, hearing Raab’s story was so moving. His perspective and recollections at 92 years of age were so vivid. Although he’s done an oral history for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Memorial, we wanted our own opportunity to honor and document his story.”
Raab went on to create a new life in Chicago and was reunited with his family. He attributes his successes to the opportunities afforded to him in this country. His first job was delivering telegrams and later joined the Army, where he was sent to college. He was then recruited to work for the U.S.Government’s Counter Intelligence Corp. as a translator helping interpret interviews with German prisoners.
Cohen, who has been photographing professionally since 2010,finds the opportunity to produce documentary films together with Co-Producer Dror Levy, of residents he has met through his work at The Palace a new and exciting venture.
To view a preview of the documentary, please visit http://cohenandlevy.com.
