Penn State Public Broadcasting will air "No. 4 Street of Our Lady," a documentary film about the Holocaust, at 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, on WPSU-TV. The film was produced and directed by three Penn State faculty members and debuted in March of 2009. Following the film, WPSU host Patty Satalia sits down with filmmaker and Penn State faculty member, Judy Maltz, as part of a special edition of "Conversations from Penn State."
"No. 4 Street of Our Lady" is an award-winning film about Maltz's family and their tragic, yet triumphant Holocaust experience. Based on 139 pages of journal entries by Maltz's grandfather, the film tells the remarkable story of Francisca Halamajowa, a Polish-Catholic woman who rescued Maltz's family, as well as two other families, during the Holocaust. Halamajowa hid the families in the hayloft of her pigsty and in a hole under the floor of her kitchen for almost two years.
"I don't think there's much publicity for their stories," Maltz said. "We happen to know the whole story. We're lucky. It's all been documented. We still have survivors who are alive and want to talk about it."
"Conversations from Penn State" is a television series hosted by veteran interviewer Patty Satalia. The program offers thoughtful, in-depth exchanges with a broad range of remarkable people. In many cases, their trailblazing work has advanced their field and drawn national and worldwide attention.
Maltz said she had to remove herself from the story of her family in order to understand its significance.
"It took my coming to live out here in Central Pennsylvania to realize it was a unique story," Maltz said. "The story was always with us at home. It was there in the house, the neighborhood, and the school. Our parents didn't have normal lives."
The special edition of "Conversations from Penn State" (film and follow-up) will air on WPSU-TV at 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The regular edition of "Conversations" with Maltz will be shown on the Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 and again at 1 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.
The show also can be viewed at http://conversations.psu.edu.
Judy Maltz is a senior lecturer for Penn State's College of Communications. Maltz worked as chief economic correspondent in Jerusalem for Ha'aretz, Israel's most respected newspaper, and was one of the founding editors of the Ha'aretz English edition. Maltz collaborated with College of Communications faculty members Barbara Bird and Richie Sherman for three years on this film project. Bird is an associate professor and Sherman is an assistant professor in Penn State's Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.
For more than 20 years, Patty Satalia has engaged dynamic individuals from all walks of life and areas of expertise. No matter the guest, Satalia approaches each conversation with the same dedication to research and with a passion for helping people share their stories and insights with the world.
WPSU serves central Pennsylvania with programming, educational services and community outreach. Its public media services produce, acquire and distribute programs that address local interests and reflect the diverse cultural, political, geographic and demographic characteristics of an audience within central Pennsylvania.