Holocaust Documentation & Education Center, Inc.
in partnership with the
Florida Turkish American Association
presents the next International Series featuring a screening of the film

Turkish Passport

presentation by
Meltem Birkegren

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
1:00 p.m.
at the

Holocaust Documentation and Education Center
2031 Harrison Street ∙ Hollywood, FL 33020

Special Turkish treats and coffee will be served.
General Admission: $5 per person
Members: free of charge

Students and education professionals (with school/university ID): free of charge

To RSVP or for information about becoming a member, please call 954.929.5690 or email irina@hdec.org.

Turkish Passport tells the story of diplomats posted to Turkish Embassies and Consulates in several European countries, who saved numerous Jews during the Second World War.
Whether they pulled them out of camps or took them off trains that were taking them to concentration camps, the diplomats, in the end, ensured that the Jews, who were Turkish citizens, could return to Turkey and thus be saved. Based on the testimonies of eye
witnesses, who traveled to Istanbul to find safety, the Turkish Passport also uses written historical documents and archive footage to tell this story of rescue and bring to light the events of the time.
The diplomats didn’t only save the lives of Turkish Jews. They also rescued foreign Jews condemned to a certain death by giving them Turkish passports. In this dark period of history, their actions lit the candle of hope and allowed these people to travel to Turkey, where they found light.
Through interviews conducted with surviving Jews who had boarded the trains traveling from France to Turkey, and talks with the diplomats and their families who saved their lives, the film demonstrates that “as long as good people are ready
to act, evil cannot overcome” (www.theturkishpassport.com). The film is in Turkish and French, with English subtitles and runs 91 minutes. This film does not have an MPAA rating.

Meltem Birkegren was born in Izmir, Turkey. She studied economical and commercial sciences and, after living in Sweden and the Bahamas, moved to the United States in 1988. She’s the owner and editor of Turkish Digest, an online news source about Turkey. Between 2000 ‐2010, Meltem served as the chairperson for Turkey at Greater Ft. Lauderdale Sister Cities International, connecting Ft. Lauderdale to its sister city Mugla, Turkey. Throughout the years she has worked extensively with both the Turkish and Jewish communities in South Florida and, is an advocate for Turkish women's rights and education.

Holocaust Documentation & Education Center
2031 Harrison Street · Hollywood, FL 33020
P: 954.929.5690 F: 954.929.5635
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