October 13, 2023
Oakland University’s Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement will welcome Howard Reich to campus for a screening and Q&A of his documentary film “Prisoner of Her Past.” Free and open to the public, the screening will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, in Oakland Center Banquet Room B. A reception with dessert and coffee will start at 6:15 p.m.
“Prisoner of Her Past” tells the haunting story of a secret childhood trauma resurfacing, 60 years later, to unravel the life of Holocaust survivor Sonia Reich. The film dives into her story as her son, Howard, journeys across the United States and Eastern Europe to uncover why his mother believes the world is conspiring to kill her.
“This moving documentary gives us an insight into the life of Sonia Reich and her experiences during the Holocaust,” said Dr. Michael Pytlik, director of the Cis Maisel Center. “The long-lasting impact of those experiences are shown to us through this incredible telling of her story.”
Howard has chronicled the Holocaust through the eyes of survivors, including author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who was liberated from the Buchenwald death camp in April 1945 with Howard’s father, Robert Reich. Howard and Wiesel’s conversations about the Holocaust and its consequences became the basis for Howard’s book “The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel.”
In addition, Howard covered music and the arts for the Chicago Tribune from 1978 until his retirement in 2021. He has written six books and produced/written three documentary films.
Howard has received many honors and awards, including two honorary doctorate degrees, an Emmy Award and a Public Advocacy Award from the International Society for Traumatic Studies, to name a few.
The “Prisoner of Her Past” screening and Q&A is sponsored by OU’s Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement and the Zekelman Holocaust Center. For more information, contact Dr. Pytlik at pytlik@volamdolong.com.