Skidmore College to note International Holocaust Day with documentary, ‘Four Winters’

Poster for “Four Winters.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS–The award winning film “Four Winters” will be screened at Skidmore College on Monday, Jan. 27, from 6-8 p.m., followed by a Q&A discussion with director Julia Mintz. The documentary, according to organizers, tells the story of Jewish fighters who battled unimaginable odds to fight back against Hitler’s war machine as it raged across Eastern Europe. The program, marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Four Winters” features interviews with the last living partisans, who are at the center of this film. The documentarians use personal photographs, letters, journals, rare archival film footage, historic war records, and artifacts from the partisans’ personal collections to weave together the story.

The film illuminates the  ways in which Jews resisted the Nazis — and celebrates the soulful bravery, cleverness, and leadership of the partisans. Director Mintz shines a spotlight on their transformation from young innocents raised in closely knit Jewish communities and families to becoming fierce fighters with enduring hope, grit, magnificent courage, and deep humanity.

“There has long been a myth that Jews were passive during the Holocaust,” said Phyllis Wang, coordinator of Saratoga Jewish Community Arts.

“Recent books and films have shown otherwise. Now, this well researched and written documentary with the last surviving partisans tells a powerful story of Jewish resistance against the Nazis and their collaborators, she added.”

Details may be obtained on the film’s website at https://fourwintersfilm.com/. Pre-registration is required. Registrants will receive the location on campus and further information before the program.

Registration is available at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/YEGSQgb/FourWinters.

The program, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, is sponsored by various offices of Skidmore College, including the Office of Religious Spiritual Life, and is co-sponsored by Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, Temple Sinai and Congregation Shaara Tfille, with support from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York.