Rescue in the Philippines is a documentary film which premiered in 2013. The topic of this film is an important but little-known chapter of modern world history.
This film explains how four prominent poker players in the Philippines managed to save more than 1,200 Jews from the Holocaust in Europe by getting them visas which allowed them to travel to the Philippines where most of them survived World War Two.
The poker players are:
** Manuel Quezon – President of the Philippines
** Paul McNutt – US High Commissioner in the Philippines
** Dwight Eisenhower – military adviser to the president
** Alex Frieder – a Jewish American businessman based in Manila
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Noel “Sunny” Izon
** Writers: Terry Irving, Russell Hodge and Cynthia Scott
** Narrator: Liev Schreiber
** Consultants: Barbara Weston Sasser and Peggy Ellis
**Available on DVD
** Subtitles: English (turn on - turn off)
** Run time: 56 minutes
Many persons are interviewed in the film. They can be divided into three categories. Here are the names of the participants:
# 1. SURVIVORS – JEWISH REFUGEES
** Peter Ambrunn
** Eva Süsskind Ashner
** Harry Brauer
** Lotte Hershfeld
** Dr Yashar Hirshaut
** Siegfried “Siggi“ Holzer
** Guenther Leopold
** Dr Jacquez Lipetz
** George Loewenstein
** Marta Miadowski (1908-2011) – mother of Ursula Pragl
** John Odenheimer (1920-2012)
** Ursula Pragl – daughter of Marta Miadowski
** Ralph Preiss
** Ernst Traugott
** Brigitta Welisch Wachs
# 2. DESCENDANTS
** Manuel Quezon III – grandson of President Manuel Quezon
** Zenaida “Nini” Quezon Avanceña – daughter of President Manuel Quezon
** Alice Frieder Weston – daughter of Alex Frieder
** Barbara Weston Sasser – granddaughter of Alex Frieder
** Jane Frieder Ellis – daughter of Morris Frieder
** Peggy Ellis – granddaughter of Morris Frieder
** Samuel Frieder – son of Herbert Frieder
** Dick Frieder – son of Herbert Frieder
** Susan Eisenhower – granddaughter of Dwight Eisenhower
** Olga Zervoulakos – daughter of Manila private investigator Zervoulakos
# 3. SCHOLARS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS
** Reverend Luis Cortes – President, Esperanza
** Mary Helen Brings Farquhar – born during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines
** Brian Madison Jones – author of a book about Eisenhower
** Ricardo Troto Josc – Professor of History, University of the Philippines
** Dean Kotlowski – author of a biography of Paul McNutt
** John Krauss – descendant of Paul McNutt
** Lita Swyrin – born in Manila
** Sarah Weiss – executive director, Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education
** Dr Gary Zola – Professor – American Jewish Experience, Hebrew Union College
Archive footage (old clips and photos) is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the talking heads. Archive footage is used when the narrator is talking.
THE PLOT
The year is 1938. Four men are sitting at a table playing poker, drinking whisky and smoking cigars. While playing a game of cards, they also talk about the situation in the Philippines and in the world around them.
They are concerned about events in Europe. Since 1933, Germany is ruled by Hitler and the Nazi Party. Since 1938, Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany. Persecution of the Jews began in 1933 in Germany and continued in Austria in 1938.
The players are concerned about the difficult and increasingly dangerous situation for Jews living in Germany and Austria. They know many Jews want to leave Germany and Austria. They also know it is almost impossible for them to do so, because no other country is willing to take them.
In this situation, when most governments of the world are closing their doors, refusing to help, the four poker players decide to do the opposite: to open the door.
They want to do the right thing, even if it is not
going to make them popular.
A plan is developed: Jews who have skills can apply for a visa and travel to the Philippines. Maybe the plan is great, but can it be implemented?
While the four poker players are quite influential, they do not have total control of the situation. They cannot do whatever they want.
The Philippines was an American colony from 1898. Since 1935, it has been an American commonwealth. It is a step towards independence. The transition period is supposed to last ten years. Independence is scheduled for 1945.
But as long as the Philippines is an American commonwealth, the US is still in control of foreign policy, including immigration.
Quezon and his American friends are surprised and disappointed to learn that the country which offers the strongest opposition to their plan is not Nazi Germany but the United States.
Nazi Germany is often willing to allow the Jews to leave, although they must leave all valuables behind. Nazi Germany is often prepared to issue exit visas to Jews who want to leave Germany, as long as they have a visa for their final destination.
The US State Department is in control of immigration. The State Department is dominated by people who do not want to help Jews who wish to emigrate from Germany and Austria. This is why Jews are not allowed to enter the US and other American territories such as the Philippines.
When Quezon and his friends persist, the State Department finally allows them to issue 1,000 visas. From the previous year they have 200 visas which were not used. This means the total number of visas is 1,200.
Sometimes a visa can cover more than one person. Sometimes a visa can cover a whole family. This is why 1,200 visas can cover more than 1,200 persons.
Between 1938 and 1941, 1,200 visas were granted and more than 1,200 Jews from Germany and Austria were allowed to travel from Europe to the Philippines.
They were rescued from the Holocaust in Europe. The Philippines is far from Germany. It was supposed to be a safe haven for them. And it was. But only for a short time.
In December 1941, things changed, when Japanese forces attacked the Philippines (only ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor).
It was the beginning of a brutal and bloody occupation. Many people were arrested and placed in concentration camps.
In 1944, the US began a campaign to take the islands back. It was a cruel operation, because the Japanese did not want to surrender.
In 1945, the Japanese forces were finally defeated and the war came to an end.
Most of the Jewish refugees who had come to the Philippines survived the war. Since they had German passports, and since Japan was allied with Germany, the Japanese did not want to arrest them.
In 1946, the Philippines was proclaimed as an independent country. President Manuel Quezon died in exile in the US in 1944. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see his country gain its independence.
REVIEWS AND RATINGS
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 75 percent, which corresponds to 3.8 stars on Amazon.
On Amazon there are at the moment 55 global ratings and 50 global reviews. The average rating is 4.4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.
CONCLUSION
If you ask me, the former rating is too low, which the latter rating is much more appropriate.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. The poker player Alex Frieder had four brothers. The five brothers owned a cigar manufacturing company in Manila. From their factory, they exported cigars all over the world.
The Frieder family had a rotation system: one brother lived and worked in Manila for two years, while the other four remained in the US. The five brothers are:
** Henry 1884-1955
** Philip 1884-1960
** Alex 1893-1968
** Morris 1900-1958
** Herbert 1906-1974
PS # 2. Quezon’s Game is a historical drama which premiered in 2018. This film is a dramatized version of events: the topic is President Quezon’s plan to rescue European Jews by granting them visas and inviting them to go to the Philippines. The time frame is 1938 to 1941.
PS # 3. The following items are available online:
** Gary Goldstein, “Review: Holocaust chapter written in Rescue in the Philippines,” Los Angeles Times, 28 March 2013
** Nicole Herrington, “Holocaust Heroism in the Philippines,” New York Times, 28 March 2013
** Yvette Alt Miller, “Holocaust rescue in the Philippines,” Aish, 26 January 2020
** Rich Tenorio, “Little known Philippines WWII rescue of Jews was capped by US interference,” The Times of Israel, 20 February 2020
REFERENCES
** Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror by Frank Ephraim (2003)
** Olga’s War: The Memoir of Olga Zervoulakos Owens by David Rutter (2010)
*****
An Open Door:
Jewish Rescue in the Philippines
(2013)
*****
Dedicated in 2009
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment