Irish Documentary on Holocaust to be Distributed to All Post-Primary Schools in Ireland
An Irish documentary film featuring one of the last survivors of the Holocaust living in Ireland is to be distributed to all post-primary schools in Ireland.TILL THE TENTH GENERATION which was screened on RTÉ earlier this year and jointly funded by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the IFB and RTÉ, features the story of Slovakian-born Tomi Reichental, now long-resident in Ireland, giving his account of being imprisoned as a child at Belsen concentration camp.
Tomi Reichental was nine-years old in October 1944 when he was rounded up by the Gestapo in a shop in Bratislava and sent to Belsen. Altogether, 35 members of the Reichental family - grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins - died in the Holocaust.
Until recently Tomi felt unable to speak of his experiences. But as Ireland rapidly became multi-cultural in recent times, he chose to break his silence and set out on a mission of remembrance, making this documentary and touring schools to tell his story as a lesson in ethnic tolerance.
The documentary produced by Gerry Gregg with Praxis Pictures was screened at the Galway Film Fleadh and the Foyle Film Festival this year.
Tomi's story will now be brought to a wider audience as the documentary will become a feature of the post-primary curriculum with both the film and teaching guides prepared by the Holocaust Education Trust and funded by the Department of Integration, being distributed to schools throughout Ireland.
Tomi Reichental said, "I made the film so that people would not forget what happened to me and millions like me during the years of the Nazi Third Reich. I found my voice after nearly 50 years of being unable to speak about it and that voice is now recorded forever in the film. Now through this documentary, long after I have gone my testimony will live in the memories of the school children around Ireland, lending real meaning to the title of the film ‘Till The Tenth Generation'".
He continued, "I am delighted and privileged that my ‘mission of remembrance' has received so much support and recognition in the country that has been my home for over 50 years".
Welcoming the news Kevin Dawson, Head of RTÉ Corporate Communications said, "The decision to fund the distribution of the documentary for post-primary schools is to be applauded. It is very much in the spirit of Tomi Reichental's mission to speak out about the Holocaust ensuring that his story and his message of multi-ethnic tolerance will be heard as widely as possible by Ireland's young people".
Alan Maher, Production Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said: "Gerry Gregg's documentary ‘Till The Tenth Generation' gave a voice to Tomi Reichental and allowed him to tell his personal account of what happened to him during World War II. This story will now reach audiences far beyond the traditional mediums of film festivals and television. Schools all over Ireland will have an opportunity to access living history through this documentary which I believe is a very positive outcome."