'And Then They Came for Me' in the presence of Eva Schloss at Solihull School

I was honoured to be invited back to Solihull School on Monday 23rd September 2019, the previous time being last January for the screening of No Asylum - the Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story in the presence of Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank's stepsister, Eva Schloss. This time it was for a performance of And Then They Came For Me by James Still (Moondog Productions), also in the presence of Eva Schloss.

The play is, essentially, a very real and graphic multi-media representation of Eva's entire Holocaust experience. It brings it home to you much more effectively than reading about it or even watching it on film. And Then They Came For Me seems to be permanently on tour, so go and watch it - it's a must-see! For me, it was an unforgettable experience which, I feel, should be part of every school's Holocaust education curriculum.

Back row:
David Lloyd Headmaster: John Wood, son of Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Berney, Bergen Belsen liberator; The Right Honourable The Lord Glasman, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research UK
Front row:
Mark Penney Head of the Junior School; Diana Crabtree; Eva Schloss MBE; Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE

Headmaster of Solihull School, David Lloyd, addressing the audience before the start of the play, 
with Eva Schloss and many other dignitaries in the front row. 

Patrick Withey as a Hitler Youth

Nazi officials (Patrick Withey and Benjamin Hardy-Phillips) arresting Eva (Gemma Reynolds) 

A testimony by Eva plays on the big screen while Patrick, Benjamin and Gemma recreate Eva's interrogation 

The Hitler Youth telling us how he was ordered to strangle his puppy, 
otherwise he'd never be a real German 

The cast on stage with Eva

After the play, Eva answered questions from Mark Penney, Head of the Junior School 

(organiser of the event) and from the audience

Eva with the cast after the show (left to right: Eva Schloss, Patrick Withey, Savannah Betts, 
Benjamin Hardy-Phillips, Gemma Reynolds)

An Evening Celebrating the Life of Gena Turgel, MBE

I was so pleased to be invited to this very special event, hosted by Holocaust Educational Trust in honour of Holocaust survivor, Gena Turgel, who sadly passed away last year.

My connection with her was via my late father, Belsen liberator, Leonard Berney. Gena was one of the thousands of prisoners at Bergen Belsen, and after liberation, my father was the Commander of the Belsen Camp for Displaced Persons. Another member of the liberating forces was Norman Turgel. He met Gena at Belsen and pretty much, there and then, decided he was going to marry her.

He wanted to hold an engagement party at the Displaced Persons camp, but in order to do that, he had to ask permission from my father.  Luckily, Dad said yes! This story, which includes a photo of myself with Gena, appeared in the Daily Mail in 2015 on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belsen.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Norman Turgel in Hyde Park in 1985 at an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Belsen. Norman told me he remembered my father from their time together at Belsen in 1945.

The evening, in the presence of many of Gena's family, celebrating her took place at the Arts Depot in North Finchley, London on 12th September 2019. It was a very moving, educational and inspirational, musical evening. Before the show, Gena's wedding dress, famously made out of an army parachute (now preserved at the Imperial War Museum), was on display. Here is a selection of my photos from the event:

Gena's wedding dress made from a parachute

Gena's grandson, Chazan Jonny Turgel, accompanied by Kramer Camerata

Karen Pollock MBE (Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust)

Natasha Kaplinksy OBE

Bob Blackman MP, Tracy Ann Oberman (who also spoke at the event), me
and behind me, the Rt Hon Ed Balls

Screening of 'No Asylum - The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story' at Solihull School

I was honoured to be invited to this event, held on 21st January 2019 at Solihull School to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2019! 

It was all so moving and it really got across the message of the importance of Holocaust education, and that none of us can be bystanders in the face of racial, religious or gender hatred, prejudice or discrimination. 

It is vital that we learn from history and speak up straight away before it's too late.

Back row: Gemma Harris, John Wood, Joyce Weinrib, Mark Penney, Tim Robertson
Front row: Eva Schloss, Tomi Reichental, Mindu Hornick (Photo: Solihull School)

Back row: John Wood
Front row: Eva Schloss, Tomi Reichental, Mindu Hornick (Photo: Solihull School)

 Mindu Hornick, Tomi Reichental, Eva Schloss

The Q&A after the screening of 'No Asylum'  (Photo: Solihull School)

Mark Penney talking about Belsen survivor Nanette Blitz Konig

Anne Frank's stepsister Eva Schloss  (Photo: Solihull School)

The UK Premiere of "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey"

Dr Toby Haggith of the Imperial War Museum, Archive Researcher on the film, third from the left

13th October 2014 - BFI Southbank, London - Now finally complete 70 years late, "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey" is such an important document but it's extremely hard to watch.

Some links:

• IMDb Listing
• IWM Press Release
• Daily Mirror
• Hollywood Reporter
• BBC

Preview of "Night Will Fall"

Yesterday, I was invited to a preview (the first-ever public screening) of the feature-length documentary "Night Will Fall" at the BFI Southbank. The audience comprised those involved with the making of the film. My father, Leonard Berney, appears on screen many times, giving his account of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen.

The film is really quite harrowing and it doesn't pull any punches at all. It gets across in graphic detail what it was like to witness the horrors at the aftermath of the Nazi concentration camps, close up. Just watching it on film was difficult enough, so to have actually been there; to have seen it and smelled it first hand is an experience that is difficult to imagine. 

When the credits had finished rolling and the lights had faded up, the audience were in stunned silence.

Night Will Fall (2014)
Feature Length Documentary
Synopsis
In the spring of 1945, Allied forces liberating Europe found evidence of atrocities which have tortured the world’s conscience ever since. As the troops entered the German concentration camps, they made a systematic film record of what they saw. Work began on a documentary to show the horror they witnessed to the German population.

Sidney Bernstein, chief of the Psychological Warfare Film Section of SHAEF commissioned the film. Those involved in the production included Alfred Hitchcock and renowned editor Stewart McAllister; they produced perhaps the most remarkable testament of the 20th Century. “No German can say he didn’t know” insists the commentary, co-written by Richard Crossman, the future cabinet minister.

These sentiments were judged by the British Government to be unsuitable to the bridge-building mood towards Germany. The film was never shown.

40 years later an American researcher found a rusty can marked “F3080” in the vaults of London’s Imperial War Museum. It was in very poor condition and the last roll was missing, but in 1985 a scratched and blurry copy was shown on PBS in America. Now after three years of work by Dr Toby Haggith of the IWM, the entire film has been fully restored and piece by piece, frame by frame, the lost last reel has been put together from the original shot lists. For the first time in history the completed “F3080” is ready to be shown.

Spring Films is co-producing with Angel TV a 90 minute documentary for theatrical and television release. This documentary, ‘Night Will Fall’ is to coincide with the release of the remastered original film and will tell the remarkable story behind the making of the film, the people involved and the reasons why it was never shown.

Team Credits
Director: André Singer
Directorial Advisor: Stephen Frears
Executive Producer: Richard Melman
Producer: Sally Angel

Partners
Angel TV
Cinephil