PBS – Avi Wisnia

PBS

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PBS Documentary Premiere

I’ve been waiting a long time to tell you, and now I finally can…
HOW SABA KEPT SINGING will make its televised premiere on PBS this Spring.

The documentary will air on Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tuesday April 18 at 10pm ET /9pm CT (check your local listings).

The film by Sara Taksler, about how my grandfather David Wisnia survived the Holocaust & our recent journey back to Poland as a family, will be on TV! Not only does the film tell my late grandfather’s incredible story, it also incorporates music by my Saba and me, including a song he wrote while a prisoner in Auschwitz.

“Musician David “Saba” Wisnia believed that he survived the horrors of Auschwitz by entertaining the Nazi guards with his beautiful singing voice. Join David and his grandson Avi Wisnia as the pair embark on a journey exploring the mystery of Saba’s past.”

We are so proud and honored to be able to share this family story with all of you, with everyone, and we hope you will tune in for this special event.

For more information about the broadcast, visit: https://www.pbs.org/show/how-saba-kept-singing/

Stay tuned for more live screenings of the film, including the Philly Premiere coming in April as well.

You can read more about our travels together by going to the blog at MY POLISH WISNIA.

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Poland Part III: Day 4

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, my grandfather sang in front of this stone building, the Death Gate to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a profound experience to be here in Auschwitz, commemorating the Holocaust, as a family. We are three generations bearing witness to the horrors my grandfather survived. And as hard as it is to be here, as hard as it has been to make this journey, it is important. If the Nazis were successful, none of us would be here. But we are here. And we are here for all those who cannot be here. We will not be erased.

“Children and grandchildren walked beside survivors or pushed their wheelchairs into buildings made of brick and hatred, proof that the Nazis couldn’t turn every family, every future, to ash.

‘I feel a great responsibility,’ grandson Avi Wisnia said at a survivor dinner Sunday night in Kraków. “My grandfather’s story is my story. It’s the story of my family. I’m very aware that when he dies, I need to keep the memory alive, and the story alive, and these experiences alive.’

David Wisnia, a longtime cantor, stood before the crowd, the gates of Auschwitz behind him. Long ago, the Nazi guards took a liking to his voice, and it kept his future alive. He sang a prayer for the dead, then the Mourner’s Kaddish. Survivors sang along and cried.

Avi stood beside him, a singer like his grandfather.” … [READ MORE from The Philadelphia Inquirer]

>> David Wisnia & Family, featured on PBS News Hour [WATCH at PBS]

It is important to hear about the Holocaust from those who experienced it, now, while we still can.

You can still watch the 75th Anniversary ceremony. Use this english-language LINK to watch the entire event. Listen to several survivors speak about the Holocaust, in their own words, and hear my grandfather sing at hour 2:25 [WATCH]

#MyPolishWisnia