You may be familiar with the work of Hollywood directors John Ford, George Stevens, and Samuel Fuller, which includes “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Shane” and “The Big Red One.” But did you know about these directors’ work in the U.S. Armed Forces and Secret Services filming the realities of war and the liberation of Nazi concentration camps?
Stevens and his crew filming in France, n.d.
© Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California
Their story is told in “From Hollywood to Nuremberg: John Ford, Samuel Fuller and George Stevens,” a documentary that explores the filmmakers’ experiences during and after World War II, their confrontation with Nazi atrocities and the mark that it left on them as artists.
An exhibit about the documentary is on display through April 30 at Scottsdale Community College, as part of a partnership with the Memorial de la Shoah, SCC and the Center for Holocaust Education and Human Dignity of the East Valley JCC.
An opening reception for the “Filming the Camps, from Hollywood to Nuremberg: John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens” exhibit was held on Feb. 19 and featured Jacques Fredj, executive director of Memorial de la Shoah and Gerrit Steenblik, the honorary consul of France in Phoenix.
Also present was Chris Haines, the interim president of SCC; Rabbi Michael Beyo, executive director of the East Valley JCC; John Liffiton, director of the Genocide Awareness Week at SCC; and Rich Kasper, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix. Three of the violins from Violins of Hope, a community project sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, were played during the opening reception.
A screening of the documentary, which is also in partnership with the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at SCC. A discussion of the film, moderated by Arizona State University graduate Michael Mongeau, will follow. The panel is scheduled to include Arizona State University professors Dr. Volker Benkert, Dr. Anna Cichopek-Gajraj and Dr. Michael Rubinoff. The panel is sponsored by the ASU Center for Jewish Studies.
This exhibition, curated by historian and film director Christian Delage, was designed, created and distributed by the Memorial de la Shoah in Paris and made possible through the generous support of SNCF.
Learn more about Genocide Awareness Week here.
