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WASHINGTON (May 25, 2001) -- Burning Questions, a TV documentary from the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) about Poland and the Holocaust, is set to air on NBC affiliates.
The hour-long show, which chronicles the journey of a U.S. born Catholic woman and her father as they examine his painful memories of German occupied Poland during World War II, is set to air on NBC affiliates.
NBC-TV will feed the program to its affiliates Thursday, June 14, at 1 AM ET, 12 AM CT, 11 PM MT (June 13), 10 PM PT (June 13).
Burning Questions follows Atlanta film maker Mishael Porembski and her father Jan as they travel to Poland and relive his wartime experiences, including his internment at the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp.
In this moving father-daughter story, Jan Porembski revisits the places he knew as a child in Warsaw and tries to reconcile his painful memories as his daughter Mishael captures it all on camera.
"My father used to say that a person should leave the past in the past," said producer Mishael Porembski. "I knew that was his way of hiding from the pain and trying to forget how the war destroyed his home, SS officers stole his father, and his time at Bergen-Belsen. He tried to
make peace by forgetting. But the memories would catch him unaware. Burning Questions chronicles a time that changed the lives of my father and myself."
During World War II, Poland lost six million citizens to Nazi terrorism—three million Jews and another three million Polish non-Jews, the overwhelming number of them Roman
Catholic. It is estimated that 70,000-90,000 Polish Catholics perished in Nazi concentration camps and forced labor camps alone. Others died in combat or in public executions.
"The Nazis attacked Poland as part of their genocidal plan to eliminate or subjugate all those they regarded as biologically inferior. Their aim was to destroy Poland as a nation, including its entire culture and religion, and not merely defeat it militarily." says Eugene Fisher, Ph.D., associate director of the U.S. Bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. "Burning Questions looks at the suffering of both Catholic and Jewish Poles in a most respectful manner. Viewing the program can be a very healing experience for both communities."
Burning Questions reinforces the importance of sharing memories, even painful ones, with those you love," says Bishop Joseph Galante, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Communications, which oversees the CCC. "As the generation that includes Holocaust survivors grows older, it is vital that their stories are told so that future generations never forget this horrific chapter in history."
Produced by Matchlight Productions Inc., for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC), Burning Questions is part of the 2001 "Horizons of the Spirit" series provided to NBC-TV by the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC), whose members include the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Viewers should check with local affiliates for the broadcast date and time locally. Information also can be found on the Web at www.nccbuscc.org/ccc.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is the public policy agency of the U.S. bishops. Through its Catholic Communication Campaign, the USCCB produces and distributes a variety of media projects including TV documentaries that examine spiritual themes, Christmas and Easter specials, and public service campaigns about issues or national importance.
It also sponsors 1-800-311-4CCC, a toll-free movie review line, and 1-800-MASSTIMES, a toll-free number to help travelers find Mass locations and times nationwide.
Editors: To schedule an interview with Mishael Porembski, call (770) 436-6876. Ms. Porembski will be a featured guest on Catholic Radio Weekly June 16-17.
An online press kit will be available Tuesday, May 29 at http://www.usccb.org/ccc/bqindex.shtml.