Encore - Haven or Hell? Jews in the Philippines During WWII

Recorded on 11/10/2020 For years, Sandy Lanman knew her grandmother Elsie had escaped  Germany to the Philippines only to lose her husband Gunther in the  brutal Battle of Manila at the end of World War II. Aside from a few  photos and family stories, she knew little else. In 2019, a  serendipitous encounter on Facebook led her to Gunther’s great-nephew  and a trove of photos of Elsie and Gunther in Manila. The discovery  sparked her interest in the history of this little-known Jewish haven.  Through film, photos and Elsie’s own words, Sandy's presentation tells  the story of the rescue of 1,300 European Jews and the terrors they  faced under Japanese rule during World War II. Sandy Lanman is an award-winning writer and public relations  professional. She began her career as a staff writer for The Home News  in New Brunswick,  where she won awards for health, medical and human  interest writing. She has worked in public relations for Crossroads  Theatre Company, New Jersey Network and Rutgers University, and as a  consultant and writer serving clients in higher education, the arts and  nonprofit sector, and is on the boards of the Friends of the East  Brunswick Environmental Commission and Central Jersey Jewish Historic  Society. Sandy has a B.A. in English from Douglass College and master’s  in communication and information studies from Rutgers’ School of  Communication and Information. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library