Newton, Massachusetts
Part of a group of approximately 1220 people of German
and/or
Jewish descent who met (and still meet) on a once-monthly, evening basis for
discussion.
Film Appearances* Children of the Third Reich Timewatch,
B.B.C. (London), © 1993; produced by Catrine Clay. Samson Munn was one of the four
most highlighted participants in a group of eighteen daughters and sons of Holocaust
survivors who meet for profound encounters with sons and daughters of German Nazis. This
fifty-minute documentary has been broadcast nation-wide in the U.K. (several times on the B.B.C.),
in the U.S. (several times on the Arts and Entertainment and The History Channel
cable-TV channels), in Holland, in Australia, in Canada, in France, in Israel, in
Turkey, and in other countries.
Eine unmögliche Freundschaft ["An Impossible
Friendship"] Provobis (Berlin), © 1998; produced by Michael Richter. The film
documented the friendship between Samson Munn (the son of two concentration camp
survivors) and Dirk Kuhl (the son of the Gestapo commandant of Braunschweig). This
forty-five-minute film has been broadcast several times in Germany and in
Austria.
Out of the Ashes Timewatch, B.B.C. (London), © 1995;
produced by Catrine Clay. This forty-eight minute film examined Samson Munn and two others
and has been broadcast nation-wide in the U.K. (several times on the B.B.C.),
in the U.S. (several times on the Arts and Entertainment and The History
Channel cable-TV channels), in Israel, in Holland, and in other
countries.
Radio Appearances Encounter between Children of Survivors and
Children of Perpetrators [during a religious affairs program on] B.B.C. Radio
4, June 2, 1996. Samson Munn was one of two people interviewed (live) for about five
minutes in this Sunday morning program broadcast throughout the U.K.
Second Generation Reconciliation Outlook, B.B.C. (London),
November 10, 1993, © 1993; produced by Kate Howells. Samson Munn was one of two
people interviewed in-depth (live) for seven minutes by John Waite in this
radio, news
magazine program, broadcast throughout the U.K.*
Children of the War Today at One, Blue Danube Radio,
Österreichische Rundfunk (Austrian National Radio, Vienna), March 13, 1995, © 1995;
produced by Jane Duke. Samson Munn was interviewed (live) for eleven minutes by Hal Rock
about the creation of The Austrian Encounter, then merely incipient, in this
Austrian, English language, radio program.*
The Austrian Encounter Deutsche Welle summer 1997;
produced by Silvia Pfeifer. Samson Munn and a couple of the participants in The
Austrian Encounter were interviewed in Vienna for an English language program on
national German radio.
Encounter between Children of Survivors and Children of
Perpetrators The Stu Taylor Show, WSSH (Boston), Talk America Radio Network,
broadcast December 24, 1993, © 1993. Samson Munn was the sole guest, interviewed in-depth
(live) by Stu Taylor in this hour-long, call-in, talk-radio program, broadcast
nationally.*
Print Appearances* Limpensable dialogue: Les mémoires de
la Shoah IV ["The Unthinkable Dialogue: The Memories of the Holocaust
IV"] Le Monde (Paris), April 28, 1995, page 16, by Annick
Cojean.
Samson Munn was one of five sources interviewed and quoted in this full-page
article, the
fourth in a series.
Anreden gegen die Schweigespirale: Wie Kinder von hohen Nazis und
Nachkommen der Holocaust-Opfer in London versuchten, einander zu begegnen ["Arguing
Against the Spiral of Silence: How Children of Major Nazis and Descendents of Holocaust
Victims Sought to Encounter One Another in London."] Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich)
June 4, 1996, page 3 (a favored, prestigious position in German newspapers), by Birgit
Weidinger. Samson Munn was one of three quoted sources in this article, in one of
Germanys most respected and widely read newspapers.
Kinder des Holocaust: Reden gegen das Tabu ["Children
of the Holocaust: Talking Contrary to the Tabu."] Passauer Neue Presse (Passau),
August 21, 1995, page 3 (a favored, prestigious position in German
newspapers), by Silvia
Pfeifer. Samson Munn was the primary source for this 1/3- to 1/2-page
article, which very
favorably discussed The Austrian Encounter in depth in the (then) newly more
liberal, main newspaper of a Bavarian city known for its right-wing views and
anti-Semitism.
Brückenschlag der Kinder: Das Schweigen durchbrechen ["The
Children Initiate Building of Bridges: Breaking Through the Silence."] Berliner
Morgenpost (Berlin), August 26, 1995, by Jola Merten. Samson Munn and two daughters of
Holocaust survivors are described and quoted in this article. The three were in Berlin for
a meeting, and were interviewed because of their mere presence in Berlin and because of
their involvements in encounters with sons and daughters of Nazi
perpetrators.
Belastete Begegnung: "Es liegt nicht an uns, unsere Eltern
zu versöhnen" ["Weighty Encounter: It Isnt Up to Us to
Reconcile Our Parents."] Neue illustrierte Welt (Vienna),
August/September 1995, page 17, by Brigitte Halbmayr. Samson Munn was the primary source
for this article, a thoughtful and very positive description of the first Austrian
Encounter, which appeared in a Jewish, Viennese newspaper.
Younger Germany grapples with the sins of its fathers San
Jose Mercury News (San Jose) April 1997, by Ken Garfield. Quoting and discussing
Samson Munn among others, this article discussed a major meeting (entitled The Presence
of the Holocaust in the Present) held in Berlin in January 1997, addressing
post-Holocaust dialogue.
Public Presentations Twelve to fifteen: often as part of a
panel,
usually in the U.S., in Germany, or in Israel, but also in England, in Poland, and in
Canada. Presentations have been made to public, general audiences interested in
genocide,
in the Holocaust, in Germany, and/or in Jews, and to professional, psychology
audiences,
ranging in size from 12 to 1200. They have spanned June 1992 to March 1999. For
example:
Individually presented the film Eine unmögliche Freundschaft
and discussed related projects to an audience of ~ 90 at the Goethe
Institut, Boston, the evening of September 24th, 1998.
One of two who jointly presented Opposite Sides of a Shared
History June 2nd, 1996, in London. It was a Sunday evening presentation of
about 2 1/2 hours length, open to the public, produced by the Second Generation Trust
(London) and the Institut für vergleichende Geschichtswissenschaften (Berlin),
held at the Royal Geographic Society. It was attended by a broad audience of
approximately 500, including much of the German population living in and near London, and
was covered very positively by the British and German press.
One of two who were jointly invited to present Grand Rounds:
Second Generation, Post-Holocaust Dialogue at the Department of Social
Work,
Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, February 18th,
1998. The audience comprised about 40 professionals in social work and psychotherapy in a
prestigious Boston hospital department.
Individually presented The Austrian Encounter at the 28th
Annual Scholars Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches February 1998 in
Seattle (to an audience of ~ 40), at the 29th
Conference March 1999 in New York (to an audience of ~ 30), and
at the International Conference on Genocide October 1998 at California State
University (Sacramento, to an audience of ~ 100).
Conference Organized International Conference of
JewishGerman Intensive Dialogue Groups held in Boston, July 2628, 1996.
This was the first "council" of representatives of such groups, and was
organized and chaired by Samson Munn. There were thirteen representatives present from
twelve dialogues or dialogue types, functioning in eight countries (Germany, Israel,
Austria, the U.S., England, France, Russia, and Canada).
References Catrine Clay Producer, Timewatch B.B.C.
Documentaries
Annick Cojean Le Monde
Dan Bar-On, Ph.D. Professor of Behavioural
Sciences,
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Marc Skvirsky Facing History and Ourselves
Birgit Weidinger Süddeutsche Zeitung
Leonard Grob, Ph.D. Goldner Symposium