Last June I invited the local clergy of Douglaston/Little Neck to the rectory for lunch. We had the pastors of Zion Episcopal, Community Church of Douglaston, Community Church of Little Neck, and the Rabbis of the Marathon Jewish Community Center and the Little Neck Jewish Center, Fr. Chris and myself. We have met twice since then and are now jointly hosting the screening of “Elisabeth of Berlin.” I hope you will attend and as usual show our hospitality and welcome to our friends and neighbors. Here is the release we are sending to various groups. A discovery was made in 2004 in a dusty church basement outside Frankfurt, Germany that wrote history. Before the briefcase full of papers was found, only a friend knew for sure that Elisabeth Schmitz was perhaps the most forceful voice of Christian resistance against the Nazis. This discovery connected a forgotten woman to the most tumultuous events of the 20th century. Who was this courageous woman?
 
The Clergy Association of Little Neck/ Douglaston, which is an interfaith organization, proudly hosts a screening of “Elisabeth of Berlin,” the latest film by director Steven D. Martin of Vital Visions, Inc. The screening will be on Tuesday, November 18th at 8:00 PM in the Fr. Smith Hall at St. Anastasia Roman Catho lic Church, 45-14 245th St. Douglaston. Rev. Martin has produced three films on the role of the Protestant church in the Third Reich, beginning with the breakthrough “Theologians Under Hitler” This event is part of a series of screenings across the United States and Germany in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht (the night of Broken Glass”).
 
“Elisabeth of Berlin” tells the forgotten story of a schoolteacher who pleaded with church leaders to take a stand on behalf of the Jews of Germany. When the oppression of the Jews turned violent in November of 1938, she took early retirement, objecting that she could no longer teach her subjects according to the Nazi worldview. For nearly five years afterwards she put her life at continuous risk by sheltering Jews in her Berlin apartment and in a small house in the country.
 
Elisabeth Schmitz recognized the danger of Nazism long before others in the churches. While most church leaders embraced Nazism, and others regarded Hitler with more caution, Schmitz understood the catastrophe fro the very beginning. “Elisabeth of Berlin” is part biography, part historical narrative, and part detective story. It has brought fascination and inspiration to adults and children alike. Above all this film shows the importance of broadening our circle of friendships, especially during dangerous times.
 
Following the film, Rev. Martin will personally lead a discussion on how we can encourage and develop closer interfaith relationships. It is his belief and hope that better relations among Christians, Jews, Muslims, and those of other faiths or no faith would help avert any future faith based discrimination long before anything like the atrocities of the Holocaust could be contemplated. We invite all community members of good will to attend this free film screening and discussion.