Harry Potter Star Voices New Holocaust Day Film

Thursday 5th November 2009

http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/national/?content_id=12758

Actor Daniel Radcliffe is set to help educate Britain about the horrors of the Holocaust by narrating a film focusing on the stories of three survivors.

The star of the Harry Potter films has lent his voice to the 10-minute production, which will be featured as part of commemorations for January's Holocaust Memorial Day - which this year will mark 65 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.

Radcliffe - whose mother is Jewish and who last year donated a pair of spectacles to an exhibition in Liverpool marking Holocaust Memorial Day - said he felt "very privileged" when approached to narrate The Legacy of Hope. "I felt that in a very small way I was contributing to the remembrance of these tragic and horrendous events, while also commemorating all those people who refused to let the horrors they had lived through dictate the tone of the rest of their lives," he said. "The surest shield we have against future atrocities is our knowledge and our emotional understanding of what has happened in the past. The chance to help the vital work done by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust could not be turned down."

Among those featured in the film is Lily Ebert, who was deported to Auschwitz as a teenager along with close family members. "The SS officer Dr Mengele was waiting with a stick in his hand," she recalled. "With one movement of his hand, Mengele had the power of life and death. My mother, brother and sister were sent straight to the crematorium."

Lily survived, as did two of her sisters who were also incarcerated at the concentration camp and have since built lives in Israel. Shown lighting a memorial candle, Lily says: "In spite of all the suffering, we kept our hope because without hope we would have definitely perished. We hoped against all odds, and this gave us the possibility of survival."

Fellow survivor Ben Helfgott, who went on to represent Britain in weightlifting at the Olympics, said: "I did not harbour revenge or hatred. I put all my energy into creating a positive and meaningful life. Nine years after my liberation I had established my career as well as becoming a British weightlifting champion.

"I represented Britain, my adopted country, in many international competitions. Tolerance and respect for others should be the guideline for living in harmony with one another."

Iby Knill, a Christian survivor, and a member of the resistance, is also in the film, which includes footage from Auschwitz-Birkenau from the past and present.

Radcliffe stressed that genocide has taken place in other parts of the world since the Shoah. "This year, on Holocaust Memorial Day, let's pledge to listen to the memories of survivors and let their words influence how we live our lives today. We can strive for an inclusive society where we celebrate difference. We can work to create a future that is free from the dangers of exclusion and persecution. We can all learn from the survivors of the Holocaust and become part of the legacy of hope."

Speaking to the Jewish News, Holocaust Educational Trust Chief Executive Karen Pollock expressed hope that Radcliffe's "support will help raise greater awareness of this important day and encourage more young people to take part".

Expressing delight at the actor's support, Carly Whyborn, Chief Executive Officer of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: "People will have the opportunity to listen to the memories of survivors like Ben, Lily and Iby and think about what action they can take after HMD which will have a positive impact on their community."