Lecture
Professor David Peimer
Saturday 5.09.2026
Professor David Peimer
World War II in Film: Great Jewish and POW Escape Stories
Saturday 5.09.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 5 September at 5:00pm (UK).
Summary
Join as we explore extraordinary Jewish escape stories in film: Escape from Sobibor (1987, the historic 1943 mass uprising at the extermination camp), The Auschwitz Report (2021, the true story of Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, two Slovakian Jews who escaped Auschwitz), and Defiance (2008, about the Bielski brothers and partisans who escaped to save Jews and fight the Germans in camps hidden in the forests). We contrast these with how Hollywood portrays great POW stories: The Great Escape (1974), The Wooden Horse (1950), The Colditz Story (1955), Von Ryan’s Express (1965), and The One That Got Away (1957). Finally, we ask a different escape question, how did Speer avoid the hangman?
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published numerous books, including Armed Response: Plays from South Africa and the digital book Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.