Hana's suitcase in Nagano

Since the story of Hana's suitcase was adapted for a stage,

it's been wonderful visiting so many groups of families who want to see the suitcase

and learn the history before they see the play.

Last weekend, Hana's suitcase was on the road again to meet a few groups in Nagano.

In one of the meetings, there were three high school students

who were not keen on coming to the presentation.

They knew it would be a very sad story.

But they talked to each other and decided to come.

At the end of the presentation, they left a few words for George.

(with no preparation, no draft...)

It's in Japanese, but they are saying they realized how important it is to remember and to share.

Mach on the right says, "A series of coincidences also gave me a chance to learn about

Hana's suitcase. I'm happy about that. Now I want to share it with many others.

Kazumi

Maho

Machi

The book Hana's Suitcase 10th anniversary & the film's NY debut

It's been 10 years since the book Hana's Suitcase was published.

We just had a wonderful get together in Toronto for this 10th anniversary celebration.

Hana's Suitcase Anniversary Album published by Second Story Press

60 pages were added to the original story

to show the past 10-year traveling with Hana's suitcase.

Presentation to a group of students at Toronto Public Library.

It's always wonderful to meet children of rainbow colors.

They are all from one school!

 

With German Consul General Sabine Sparwasser,

who hosted a wonderful 10th anniversary get together

with 150 family, friends, and supporters.

 A surprise gift from the German Consul Sabine Sparwasser -

beautiful music of Bach played by the Cellist Tobias Baez

With author Karen Levine

moving to NY... it was Earth Day!

The film "Inside Hana's Suitcase" opened in NY.

Hana's brother, George Brady, and the film director Larry Weinstein

at the Quad Cinema in Manhattan.

We had a wonderful time with wonderful audience.

Among them was a group of Japanese mothers!



For the screening schedule of Inside Hana's Suitcase, please see here!

Related articles :

"Inside Hana's Suitcase - a lesson in tolerance and compassion"

April 22, 2012, Japan Culture NYC

"Inside Hana's Suitcase - A Holocaust Movie for Kids"

April 26, 2012, Huffington Post

Words from Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

We are so excited and honored to receive words from Professor Elie Wiesel on Larry Weinstein's film, "Inside Hana's Suitcase".

The film will open in theaters in NY in April 2012. Please see here.

“In those times of darkness and death, objects too had memories to share and stories to tell. This moving Odyssey of a young Jewish girl’s suitcase from Auschwitz to Tokyo is one of them. Follow Larry Weinstein’s moving and absorbing film evocation and, like amazed Japanese children, you will learn essential lessons about pain and compassion. And above all, about the power of memory.”

– Elie Wiesel, Author, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust Survivor



©Sergey Bermeniev



Visit to Scotland, January 2012

Hana's brother George Brady, Mrs.Teresa Brady,

their daughter Lara, Larry Weinstein,

director of the film "Inside Hana's Suitcase",

and Fumiko Ishioka visited Scotland in January 2012.

Story of Hana's suitcase was shared with 3000 students in Scotland

on National Holocaust Memorial Day events.

DAY 1 - Arrived in beautiful Edinburgh!

DAY 2 - Reunion with the Brady family!

DAY 3 - Screening of the film "Inside Hana's Suitcase"

for 500 students at Filmhouse.

Q and A followed with George, Lara, and Fumiko.

Such enthusiastic students asking George (left) questions.

We were so lucky to have such beautiful sunny days.

For the screening in the evening, Larry Weinstein, the film director joined.

Lots of students and families came to see the film.

DAY 4 - Moved to Dundee. Visited Eastern Primary School.

Q and A sessions went out to schools al over Scotland

via 'Glow Meet' (Scottish national intranet for school education).

More than 1,000 students from 23 schools, including one from Shetland, joined us.

Hi! to friends in Japan

Hana's suitcase presentation in the evening at

Dundee Contemporary Arts Theatre.



Lara Brady speaking


DAY 5 - Visit to Arbroath Academy.

Back in Dundee in the afternoon. Visited the Lord Provost John Letford
of the City of Dundee,
co-host of National Holocaust Memorial Event Scotland.

Caird Hall, venue for the main event.
Excited to hear that Beatles also performed here!

For the evening, we were invited to such warm,
lovely dinner at Jewish Community Center.

DAY 6 - National Holocaust Memorial Day event

For 1,300 students in the morning.

Main event in the evening

Rabbi Bent Melchior of Denmark and Lord Provost

Students Choir perform 'Courage'



Maureen and Frances from Scottish Inter Faith Council





Visit to Mobile, Alabama, US, on Jan 5-6, 2012

The film "Inside Hana's Suitcase" was screened

for more than 1800 students from 7 different schools, in Mobile, Alabama,

on January 5-6, 2012.

UMS-Wright

Holocaust educators' workshop "Hana's Suitcase"

at the University of South Alabama

At Bayside Academy

Murphy High School 

Students of Murphy High School

Students from St.Mary Catholic School

With students of Gulf Shores High School

Rickie Voit and Barry Silverman and friends who organized

Mobile Jewish Film Festival

Hana's suitcase: Local students learn from Holocaust victim's suitcase, recovered at Auschwitz

From Mobile Press Register

Published: Saturday, January 07, 2012, 7:25 AM

By Rena Havner Philips

(Press-Register/Bill Starling)Fumiko Ishioka, director of teh Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center, answers a question after students from Bayside Academy, Bryant & Gulf Shores high schools and Daphne Middle School watched the film "Inside Hana's Suitcase."

DAPHNE, Alabama -- Young Hana Brady wanted to be a teacher.

Instead, separated from her mother, father and brother in Nazi concentration camps,

she died a gruesome death at the age of 13.

Hana’s story, now, lives on, in the form of her suitcase,

which was obtained by Japanese museum curator Fumiko Ishioka,

who travels the world hoping to teach students the virtues of tolerance.

Hundreds of students from Mobile and Baldwin counties listened to Ishioka share Hana’s story

this week via the documentary, “Inside Hana’s suitcase,” and

question-and-answer sessions at three local schools.

“Hatred still goes on,” said Daphne Middle School eighth-grader Tia Alphonse, 14.

“We need to learn from it so we don’t repeat history. Hana wanted to be a teacher.

Now, she’s teaching us about hatred and love.”

The brown suitcase offered clues about Hana’s life.

Emblazoned on the front in white paint were her name, her birthdate, “5-16-1931,”

and the word “Waisenkind,” which means orphan.

Then there was the number “625” — which, as Ishioka discovered, was Hana’s transport number

as she was moved into Auschwitz in October of 1944,

where she would die in a gas chamber.

After the Gestapo took away her parents, Hana, who grew up in Czechoslovakia, was sent to the Terezin ghetto, where a Jewish artist secretly taught the children to draw. Ishioka found artwork by Hana — penciled drawing of the trees there, of people standing in from of a train, of happier times and picnics.

And then Ishioka learned that Hana’s brother, George Brady, had survived Terezin

and Auschwitz and was living in Toronto, Canada.

George Brady escaped during a 1945 death march, discovering later his sister’s fate.

Ishioka contacted him and the two have joined to tell Hana’s story.

Hana was one of about 1.5 million children slain during the Holocaust.

A total of 6 million Jewish people were killed.

“The Holocaust is not a story of 6 million people dying.

It’s the story of 6 million individuals being murdered,”

Bayside Academy assistant headmaster Dick Cleveland told students

from Bayside, Daphne Middle and Gulf Shores and Bryant high schools on Friday.

Hana’s story, he added, gives students a more personal look at one girl’s life and terrible end.

“The responses from students across the world is universal,” Ishioka said.

“They learn to love Hana. They think of their own families and friends and the life they have,

and about what they would do if faced with prejudice on the school yard.”

The students present at Bayside gave the film —

part of the Mobile Jewish Film Festival — and Ishioka a standing ovation.

Alina Myer, a 17-year-old junior at Gulf Shores High School, said

it was incredible how something as simple as a suitcase could take students on an emotional journey.

“It’s incredibly sad,” said Myer. “It’s really moving to see how someone so young, who never had a chance to really live her life, had her life ended just because of her religion.”

“It’s heart-wrenching,” added Bryant junior Chelsea Prince, 16.

“I can’t imagine going through anything like that. It’s important that we learn from them.”