“Roosevelt and Churchill saved Western civilization, but President Quezon of the Philippines—and so few people know that—saved 1200 Jewish souls—as many as Schindler, maybe even more. And that is the epitome, basically, of Judaism. It says if you save one soul, you save mankind.”
Alex and Herb Frieder with President Quezon in 1940
I have read a few versions of Anne Frank’s diary.
I have been to her hiding place in Amsterdam.
In Houston, I went inside this train used to transport Jews during the Holocaust.
Schindler’s List and The Pianist never fail to make me cry.
What I didn’t know until this night was the Philippines became a safe haven for Jews during World War 2.
Washington-based independent filmmaker Noel M. Izon has made a feature-length documentary called An Open Door: Jewish Rescue in the Philippines, which tells an uplifting story of how our small Asian nation was able to save over 1,200 Jews as they fled from Nazi Germany.
Once upon a time our country was major a afam (foreigner) town.
Just check out these LIFE magazine photos of Manila Polo Club in 1942.
Jewish refugees in a party at the Frieder’s home in Manila, 1940
In this extended trailer, you’ll see how the Jews and afams lived in Manila during World War II.
It is 15 minutes long, and as the story unfolded, I cried as the Jewish survivors spoke fondly about the Philippines and its people. You will too.
http://www.anopendoormovie.com/
Meanwhile, Rescue in The Philippines, is a one-hour documentary “of the previously untold story of how five Frieder brothers, Cincinnati businessmen making two-for-a-nickel cigars in pre-WWII Manila, together with Manuel Quezon, the charismatic first president of the Philippines, Paul McNutt, US High Commissioner and former governor of Indiana (preparing for his own presidential campaign) and an ambitious Army Colonel named Dwight Eisenhower—helped 1,200 Jews escape the Nazis and immigrate to the Philippines.”
Here’s an excerpt:
To know more, go to http://rescueinthephilippines.com/
The Lord is good.
cried buckets when we watched it in class.
CVS Reply:
January 23rd, 2013 at 9:52 PM
yes
[Reply]