Screenshot from the movie “Odette.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS– Saratoga Jewish Community Arts (SJCA), with a grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and the sponsorship of Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, will screen at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, the 1950 film “Odette,” followed by a panel discussion. The film will be shown at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 12. A desert reception follows. The panel discussion begins at 7:30 p.m. and it will also be available on Zoom. The film will not be shown on Zoom.
“Odette” tells the true story of Odette Sansom (code name LISE), a woman who became a courier and spy for the British in World War II.
Born in France, Sansom married a British citizen and was recruited by British Intelligence and dispatched into Nazi occupied France in 1942. She left behind three young children. After intense training in espionage, parachuting, Morse code, and unarmed combat, Odette is secreted to the coast of France, one of many female courier/spies relaying encrypted messages, arranging safe houses, and coordinating with local resistance and intelligence networks.
She was arrested by the Nazis in April 1943. Tortured and kept in solitary confinement for most of two years, she did not break. After 14 interrogations, the Gestapo sentenced her to death and sent her to the concentration camp, Ravensbrück. The end of the war saved her and she was released when the Soviets liberated the camp.
In 1946, she received one of Britain’s highest medals of distinction for her wartime service, the first woman so honored.
“Odette saw herself as a very ordinary woman who had the chance to see the best and worst of people,” says Phyllis Wang, coordinator of SJCA.
The film is not currently available for streaming. The DVD may be purchased from Amazon Prime, new or used. Local libraries may have a copy. Those planning to attend are asked to resister: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/4NCpu8c/Odette.
