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Danville’s Village Theatre is set to host an exclusive appearance from one of the increasingly few Holocaust survivors still living and speaking in the present day nearly 80 years after World War II.
Esther Basch is set to share her story of survival and forgiveness — the topic of an upcoming documentary film currently in production — with the Tri-Valley this weekend, with a question-and-answer period at the end set to put her in conversation with the local audience that evening. The 95-year-old’s appearance is being hosted by Chabad of Danville and San Ramon.
“It’s an honor for us to host Esther and we’re so fortunate that she has agreed to come to Danville in person to share her riveting story,” said Rabbi Shmuli Raitman of Chabad of Danville and San Ramon. “I encourage everyone who can — young and old — to come hear this remarkable person tell her incredible story of courage, faith, and survival.”
Basch’s 16th birthday was spent on a cattle car on its way to the notorious Auschwitz death camp, later being among the prisoners sent on a “death march” in 1945 to the all-women’s Salzwedel concentration camp that imprisoned more than 3,000 ahead of its liberation by the U.S. Army on April 14 that year.
The experience and the lessons learned in her life since are the subject of the upcoming documentary “The Honey Girl” about Basch’s life following the Holocaust and later speaking career aimed at sharing lessons she’s learned along the way about “resilience, tolerance, and forgiveness,” according to a preview of the film.
Now an Arizona resident, Basch is in the midst of a coast-to-coast speaking tour with appearances earlier this month in Connecticut. Danville is so far set to be the only West Coast date on her tour, with all other appearances set for the East Coast, Arizona and Montana.
Basch is set to speak in Danville’s Village Theatre at 233 Front St. on Sunday (Jan. 28) at 7 p.m. Tickets and more information are available jewishdanville.com.