Film Captures Mom's Delayed Holocaust Trauma

Catch the dramatic tale of a son’s discovery of his mother’s silent sufferings on Southeast Campus at the Texas premiere of “Prisoner of Her Past.” The film recounts the childhood trauma experienced by Holocaust survivor Sonia Reich and traces Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich’s journey as he tries to understand his mother’s condition.

Screenings will be shown in the C.A. Roberson Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 10:45 a.m. and Thursday, Nov. 4, at 9:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. They are open to the public. There is no admission charge.

Produced by Kartemquin Films, the film is based on the book, The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich–A Son’s Memoir, and is said to be “the first to illuminate a little-known illness: late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Reich’s research led him to locate relatives he did not know existed. He learned that 12,000 Jews from his mother’s hometown in easternmost Poland were executed. His mother was among fewer than 100 who escaped. He shares his findings with psychiatrists in New Orleans who are treating traumatized children who survived Hurricane Katrina to help them avoid reliving their childhood terrors as his mother now does.

More information about the screenings is available from Mike Cinatl at 817-515-3036