When Mariangela Saavedra, director of Center on the Hill, saw the film, she immediately brought it to the center.
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When Mariangela Saavedra, director of Center on the Hill, interviewed Avi Wisnia for the Germantown Community Radio at the beginning of 2023, he offhandedly mentioned that he was releasing a documentary about his grandfather on PBS in April, and said he was hoping to go on a tour across the country.
When Saavedra watched it, she knew immediately that she wanted Avi to present it at the center.
She accomplished that goal on Dec. 8, when Center on the Hill became one of the Philadelphia stops for the ‘How Saba Kept Singing tour’ – complete with music written by David Wisnia while he was in a Nazi concentration camp and questions answered by Avi Wisnia.
How Saba Kept Singing is the story of David Wisnia’s return to Poland to visit Auschwitz, where he had been imprisoned for two years.
Wisnia became a privileged prisoner because of his beautiful singing voice. The documentary consists of interviews with family members, including David himself, historical footage, and animations that act to illustrate his stories.
Avi Wisnia, David’s grandson, believes that now, almost 100 years after the Holocaust, it’s more important than ever to continue telling survivor’s stories. And he believes the documentary helps the audience better understand the complexities surrounding such trauma.
“Viewers get to know my grandfather and the entire Wisnia family,” he said. “With these stories, the Holocaust becomes real for them in a way that it might not have before.”
According to Avi, it was only in his later years that David began to share his story in the form of a 2015 memoir, titled ‘One Voice, Two Lives: From Auschwitz Prisoner to From Auschwitz Prisoner to 101st Airborne Trooper’.
And he is forever grateful.
“In a world where we are losing first-hand accounts of the Holocaust, it’s important now, more than ever, to remember and memorialize their experiences,” Avi said. “While my grandfather is no longer with us, he is still able to tell his story in his own words.”
Center on the Hill hosts a monthly speakers forum, typically on the second Thursday of every month. For more information, go to chestnuthillpres.org/center-on-the-hill.
