Roberta Grossman Filmmaker and Samuel Kassow Leading Scholar Honored at YIVO's Gala Dinner

(New York, NY) – More than 150 people attended YIVO’s gala honoring award-winning documentary filmmaker Roberta Grossman and leading Holocaust and Jewish history scholar Dr. Samuel Kassow.

Roberta directed the acclaimed documentary film Who Will Write Our History based on the book of the same title by Professor Kassow. The documentary tells the story of the heroic efforts of Emanuel Ringelblum and his compatriots, to document in real time the daily life and struggles in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Nancy Spielberg the Executive Producer of the film served as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Ringelblum and his group risked their lives to preserve the record of the Jewish people in the Ghetto, what they suffered, and how they found the inner resources and courage to resist and enable Jewish culture to survive.

“Sam’s book and Roberta’s film provides an important service in educating the general public on a range of important historical issues and as the Executive Producer of the film we have Nancy to thank for bringing this history to audiences around the world”, said YIVO Board Chair Ruth Levine.

“We are extremely proud to have these three luminaries with us tonight—to highlight their stellar achievements,” said Ruth.

“With this film Kassow, Grossman, and Spielberg have also aided in YIVO’s mission to document, preserve, and disseminate the history of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe before, during, and after the war. Who Will Write Our History is a very important story that instills pride in our people by emphasizing their courage and determination,” said YIVO Executive Director and CEO Jonathan Brent.

Together, Kassow, Grossman, and Spielberg have brought this inspiring story to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. This coming January, Who Will Write Our History will be airing on Discovery, further expanding its audience.

Amongst those in attendance at the event were Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan, Acting General Consul of Lithuania Gitana Skripkaitė, American women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, and Israeli American economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Stanley Fischer.

Photos by Todd France Photography

Roberta Grossman

An award-winning filmmaker with a passion for history and social justice, Grossman has written, directed, and produced more than 45 hours of film and television. Her films tell stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the name of justice. Grossman wrote, produced, and directed Who Will Write Our History. In 2014, she directed Above and Beyond for producer Nancy Spielberg, about the American–Jewish WWII pilots who volunteered to fight for Israel in the 1948 War.

Dr. Samuel Kassow

The Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College, Dr. Kassow is recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars on the Holocaust and the Jews of Poland. He is widely known for his 2007 book, Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive (Indiana University Press).  He has been a fixture at YIVO for many years, doing extensive research in the YIVO archives, serving as Scholar-in-Residence, and teaching classes. He launched YIVO’s first Shine Online course, titled Discovering Ashkenaz: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe, and for the past five years, he has led YIVO’s study tours to Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, has won numerous awards, and has lectured widely.

Nancy Spielberg

Spielberg grew up immersed in filmmaking, working on her brother’s early films as cast and crew. An accomplished businesswoman and philanthropist, she has turned her energy and talents to producing documentary and feature films. She is executive producer of Who Will Write Our History, which tells the story of the secret buried archive of the Warsaw Ghetto; it is being screened globally and is slated for national broadcast in early 2020.

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story

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