LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 43 Light in the darkness To hear Munk's story is to hear a story of survival. Resilience. Strength. Or, as Munk would say, "Luck." He often says there was no "reason" that he survived; he does not consider himself stronger, wiser, more resil- ient, or more worthy. He claims it was simply because he was lucky, and millions of others were not. It is a response often heard by survivors of this unthinkable chapter in human history. To witness Munk standing in Auschwitz not only reminds us of survival; his survival reminds us of de- struction, of cruelty and darkness, that he stands in a space built by human beings with the intent to murder other human beings deemed "inferior." Strength and despair. Light and darkness. Hope and remembrance. All in one clip of a 94-year-old man quietly looking upon the hallowed grounds he stood upon seven- ty-five years ago. But to know Munk is to know love, joy, and compas- sion. "He has the best sense of humor," says Frederick. "He just has this way of saying things in a moment that should be loaded or tense. For example, when we were in Auschwitz, we were getting off the bus. He tripped on the curb a little bit and he started to fall. Then he looks at me and goes, 'Imagine if I died here in the parking lot of Auchwitz!' and just laughs and laughs. And I just burst out laughing. He just has this gallows humor because you have to have that lightness after that type of darkness." While Frederick holds this documentary as the most satisfying work of his career, it is the friendship with Munk he cherishes most. He and his wife Teri still visit Munk regularly. They go on wine tours together. Teri, a former hairdresser, cuts Munks hair. "When we are together, we don't talk about the Holocaust," Fred- erick said. "He wants to just talk about things regular people talk about." The power of storytelling Return to Auschwitz is not the first documentary Frederick has made, and it certainly won't be his last. But the power of this project deeply connected to what Frederick finds to be the most powerful aspects of storytelling. "My work with historical documen- taries is done to educate people on what that time period was like, what those lives were like, and what they did. I think by shedding light on someone else's life, you wonder if what you are doing is worthwhile or what imprint you are making that will better society," he said. "So it educates, but it also enlightens. It gives you something to sink your teeth into." As for what he hopes his audience gains from this film, Frederick said, "We get to hear first-hand from a survivor about what really happened. That's incredibly powerful. We showed it to a bunch of schools at the Strand, and my friend's daughter was in the crowd. Before it started, the two kids in front of her were talking and one said, 'Yeah, my dad said this never hap- pened.' I mean, that's shocking. She said to my friend, 'I couldn't believe it and I felt like saying something, but then we watched it and they were pretty quiet afterwards.' Because Vladimir wouldn't watch it, he just came in for the Q& A after. So they opened the side door and this flood of light poured in, and he just came out of that light. And I think that just floored everybody that he was still alive. Then he sat there and took questions and everyone talked to him, and I just hope those kids realize that what their father said is just…wrong. It's just incorrect." But having the truth about the past isn't the only takeaway Frederick wants for his audience. "The thing that can get lost in this story is how uplifting it is to see what Vladimir did with his life. He became a world renowned biologist, has patents, and helped mankind. There's that resil- ience. So I think I want them to learn about the Holo- caust but also to learn about that power of resilience, about not giving up." Return Auschwitz: The Survival of Vladimir Munk can be viewed on PBS, Amazon Prime, and other stream- ing sites. Julie Canepa's self-published historical fiction novel based on Munk and Kitty, The Missing Star, was released this past summer and is currently available for purchase on Amazon.

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