Embedded Files
Post date: Nov 28, 2012 3:31:56 PM
The journey of this film has contained many elements which were simply unimagined when the project began nearly 2 1/2 years ago. Along the way, the team has met up with individuals who were involved in the Grunwald's story in ways that we never even imagined. Last week, another connection surface which has added tremendous new information to the Grunwald family's story - including some information that was even unknown to Frank until now.
Loy Beardsmore is the daughter of the late Albert Craig Levinson. Mr. Levinson was a member of the 8th Infantry and was present at Ohrdruf shortly after its liberation on April 4, 1945. Ohrdruf was a satellite camp of Buchenwald, and the last camp that Kurt Grunwald was interned in during the war. Kurt had escaped from the camp several days before the liberation by US Armed Forces, but he returned to the camp once it was liberated to speak with the liberating troops and assist as needed.
Although the story is still being pieced together, it appears that Mr. Levinson was a Clerk/Typist for the 8th Infantry and that he was tasked with typing up an eye-witness report from Kurt. At this point, we are unsure of what happened to the official copy of the report but Mr. Levinson appears to have brought home a draft copy of the document which was retained by his wife and daughter after his passing. Loy
searched for several years to determine the fate of Kurt, and recently her son was able to connect through a professor to the USHMM Survivor Registry where she learned of Frank's full name. This discovery led her to the website for Misa's Fugue, where her contact with the producers linked her to Frank.
The information in this report was interesting to Frank in many ways. He had been previously unaware of many things contained within it, including the fact that his father attempted to get the family out of Europe prior to the war. He also did not know that his father delivered so many children in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The report shares these things and many more interesting facts, all while conveying the concern that Kurt felt regarding the fate of his youngest son, which was unknown at that point in time.
Loy and Frank were able to connect and have begun sharing stories about their fathers. The report may also be donated to USHMM to go along with the other artifacts related to the Grunwald family during this tragic time in history. As more details become available, we will be sure to keep you posted!
If you are interested in reading the document, please click on the pages below. You may need to "zoom" slightly once they load on your computer.
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