In 1941, a group of the Soviet Union’s most prominent Jewish writers and artists signed an appeal to Jews throughout the world, asking them to join the Soviet people “in the holy war against Fascism... to destroy the enemy of humanity and of the Jewish people.”

The group included actor Solomon Mikhoels, poet Peretz Markish and film director Sergei Eisenstein. This newsreel footage captures their eloquent, impassioned appeals. Tragically, Mikhoels and Markish later fell victim to the Stalinist purges in the 1940s and ‘50s (Eisenstein died of natural causes in the 1940s.) This film stands as an important record of how the Soviet government relaxed its ethnic policies in order to appeal to anyone who could help fight fascism and the Nazis.

PURCHASE DVD

HOME USE ONLY $18.00 plus shipping Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional Use) Does not include Public Performance Rights Home Use Policy (pdf)

INSTITUTIONAL USE $25.00 plus shipping Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVD Does not include Public Performance Rights Institutional Use Policy (pdf)

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The National Center For Jewish Film Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454 P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070

An Appeal to the Jews of the World

USSR, 1941, 6 minutes
B&W, Russian, Yiddish and English with English subtitles

$25 Institutional Use DVD
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$18 Home Use DVD
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Public Exhibition 16mm, Beta Rental also available