Over the course of a week
in May, 2001, and a week in June, 2002, we met with a wide spectrum
of people living in Oradea. We wanted to begin to understand
the perspectives people of different interests, ages, religions
and professions would bring to our project. The meetings, most
filmed to document the process for our planned feature documentary,
include those listed below. Excerpts from some of these meetings
and interviews can be found here.
Oradea's Jewish
Community
Laci
Freund, survivor of Oradea ghetto and of Auschwitz, ex-president
of the Jewish community.
Teodor
Felix Koppelman, President of the Jewish Community of Oradea,
an important and supportive partner in our project.
Dr.
Peter Kovari, renowned physician and past president of the
Jewish Community, died tragically in 2002.
Tamas
Kovari.
Peter Mihelfy, survivor of the ghetto
and of forced labor, owns and operates a bookstore in the
city center.
Dr. Terez Mozes
and Dr. Karoly Mozes.
Sabina Rosenberg, survivor of the ghetto
and of Auschwitz, teaches German in her home.
Peter Stern, administrator for the
Jewish Community.
Peter Weisz, emigrated to Israel after
high school, a successful businessman with ties to the city
of his birth.
Eyewitnesses
Sandor Popp, helped a number of his
Jewish friends and neighbors escape ghettoization and deportation.
Magdalena Covaci and Elisabeta Horvat, elderly
Roma women, eyewitnesses to the ghettoization and deportations.
Government Officials
Petru Filip, Mayor of Oradea, an early
supporter of our project.
Adrian Luncan, Chief Architect of Oradea,
an important partner, suggested siting the memorial in the
spacious area approved by the City Councilors.
Florian Serac, Prefect of Bihor County.
Church Leaders
Laszlo Tokes
Florea Petroniu, Bishop of the Romanian
Orthodox Church, describes the need he sees for understanding
and confronting the past.
Leaders of the Arts, Educators, Journalists
Aurel Chiriac, Director of Tarii Crisurilor
Museum, an important partner in creating the new memorial.
Artists and historians, Lucia Cornea,
Miklos Jakobovits, Maria Zintz.
Lia Pop
Journalists, Pengo Zoltan and Adrian
Cris
School teachers: Zoltan Akos, Maria
Cordban, Ana Gale, and Gyongyi Szabo.
Leaders of Roma community
Iosif Rostas and Rudolf Balog.
Friends of the project and members
of our team
Alexandru Badinici, marketing director
of local internet company and part time tour guide.
Viorel
Lascu
Nicolae Nistoroiu, cameraman works
for national TV station, TVR1.
Annamaria Sava, executive assistant
to Oradea's Mayor, urban planner.
Ioan Selyem, secretary and translator
for a charity in Oradea and leader of Oradea's English Club.
Mihai Tanase, successful and highly
skilled cinematographer based in Bucharest.
