Newton, Massachusetts
Part of a group of approximately 12–20 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* L’impensable 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 Germany’s 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
Isn’t 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 Women’s 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
Jewish—German Intensive Dialogue Groups held in Boston, July 26–28,
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