Award-winning director Roberta Grossman’s impressive documentary opens up a window into 1950s Israel at a time when it was confronted with crushing economic challenges and unprecedented waves of immigration. In urgent need of funds to rebuild lives, both West Germany and Israel secretly negotiated reparations. However, not everyone was in agreement, with many survivors arguing ethical issues—how could any sum of money ever atone for the unspeakable events of the Holocaust.

Virtual Guest Speaker: Award-winning author and historian Fred Rosenbaum.

Underwritten by David Jadeson; Nadine Joseph & Neil Goteiner in memory of her father Théophile Joseph, Z"L, and in honor of her mother Monique Joseph.

Fred Rosenbaum

Author and historian Fred Rosenbaum grew up in Queens, New York in a family that was "marked by the Holocaust". His mother fled Poland and escaped to the United States. His father had earlier emigrated from Poland and became a sergeant in the United States Army, and fought in Europe during World War II. Rosenbaum earned a bachelor's degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1968, and then studied the history of Nazi Germany as a Fulbright fellow in West Germany. He earned a master's degree in European history at the University of California Berkeley. He was the founder of Lehrhaus Judaica (now functioning as New Lehrhaus) in Berkeley, California.