Come together as we commemorate Yom HaShoah with a memorial ceremony, after which we will screen the poignant film, Heaven Underground, and Rabbi Shulman will lead us in discussion and prayer. We will honor the memory of the millions lost and ensure they are never forgotten.  

In Heaven Underground: The Weissensee Cemetery is a journey into history that celebrates life and the immortality of memories. North of Berlin’s noisy city centre, surrounded by a jungle of trees and lush foliage, lies the peaceful and secluded 130-year-old WeissenseeJewish Cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery still in use in Europe. Its one hundred acres hold 115,000 graves and a meticulous archive record. The cemetery has never closed, and was one of the few institutions to remain in Jewish hands during the Nazi regime. Award-winning director, Britta Wauer’s charming portrait creates a serene experience following a delightful array of characters from around the world: mourners, tourists, a young family residing at the cemetery, a third-generation gravedigger and an ornithologist studying rare birds. 

This beautiful movie was first seen as part of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival in 2011, a copy of which was obtained by congregant Gary Fybel. Gary will introduce this 90 minute film with remembrances from his own visit to Weissensee in 1999 with his parents as part of a family roots trip during which his mother visited her sister’s grave for the first time since March, 1939. With additional research, Gary has learned that at least ten members of his family are buried at Weissensee, including his great grandparents. Anyone who has family from Berlin likely has family buried at Weissensee Cemetery.

See the movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5AuyqQRVSI

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For more information, contact Dvora.