A Cleveland Community Conversation with Producer Artemis Joukowsky

On February 17 in Cleveland, Facing History hosted film producer Artemis Joukowsky for a CommunityConversation and preview of his documentary film, Journey to Freedom.

The film tells the story of Joukowsky's grandparents Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who helped feed and shelter thousands of refugees and assisted anti-Nazi dissidents and Jews as they escaped to safety, first in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and later in France. The Sharps’ compelling story reveals a largely unknown chapter of Holocaust history and provides a new perspective on America’s relationship to it. This film is an important addition to Facing History’s collection of classroom resources that focus on rescue and resistance during the Holocaust. 

Before the event that evening, Joukowsky visited with over 150 students at Shaker Heights High School. After screening excerpts of the nearly completed film, the students spoke with Joukowsky about connections between the Sharps' upstander behavior and what they have learned about in their Facing History classes.