EDUCATIONAL STAGE PLAY/FILM

Nearly ninety percent of Greek Jews (about 70,000) perished during the Holocaust. Most were killed at Auschwitz/Birkenau. But on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, the entire Greek Jewish community was saved from annihilation. The German commander on Zakynthos, Alfredo Lutt, a vile, treacherous man, ordered the island’s Bishop Demetrios Chrysostomos and Mayor Loukas Karrer to prepare a list of all the Jews on the island. He gave them 72 hours to deliver the list. What occurred during those next three days was a series of remarkable and historic acts of human courage, compassion and cunning.

For their fearless actions, the bishop and the mayor were honored as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem.

The play, 72 HOURS, was adapted from the nonfiction book, Miracle at Zakynthos, The Only Greek Jewish Community Saved In Its Entirety From Annihilation by Deno Seder. The play’s script was listed among the Top Ten Historical Stage Plays of 2022 by ScreenCraft, a national competition for screenplays and stage plays.

In addition to being a theatrical production, the play will be filmed during rehearsals and produced as a 20-minute educational film for distribution to middle and high schools. A curriculum guide for teachers, prepared by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, will accompany the film. A 60-minute docudrama is planned for the future.

The objective of the educational outreach is threefold: 

1. to combat anti-Semitism and racism;
   
2. to teach about the Holocaust;
   
3. to support the training of educators in teaching about the Holocaust and issues of tolerance, empathy and responsible citizenship.

The story of Zakynthos teaches that there can be no faith, creed, legal or political system that endorses silence and indifference to the pain and suffering of other human beings. The filmed plays will illustrate what it means to be a decent human being, to show empathy and to take action. That legacy is worth remembering, and the lesson worth teaching.