The film, produced by Centropa, Central Europe Centre for Research and Documentation, from Vienna, portrays the sufferings of the Kalef family in Second World War Belgrade, as well as the humanism of the catholic priest without whose help Breda Kalef would not have survived the hardships of the Jewish people to become a famous opera singer.

In her opening address, Gordana Comic, National Assembly Deputy Speaker, member of the National Assembly’s standing delegation to the OSCE PA and head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Israel, stressed that the Holocaust was more than a monstrous event in human history because it was a legal state project. If we do not keep the memory of the Holocaust alive it might happen again and that is why we need to be reminded that there is a line that cannot be crossed, concluded Deputy Speaker Comic.

Senator Benjamin Cardin, head of the US delegation to the OSCE PA, opined that Centropa keeps the memory of the Holocaust alive in a unique way - by portraying the reality of life of a Jewish family on film. Keeping the memory of the Holocaust complies with the OSCE values, pointed out Senator Cardin.

Arthur Koll, Israel’s Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia stated that the OSCE PA is the right place to screen a film like this one due to the organisation’s importance and its responsibility to keep international stability.

The documentary speaks of the Serbian citizens who risked their lives to protect the Jews, said Aleksandar Necak, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia. Mere memory is not enough, it needs to be documented and verified. That is why it would be useful to create an archive of all the crimes committed against the Serbs, Jews and Roma in the Second World War, and found a memorial centre at the site of the former camp in Staro Sajmiste in order to educate the youth so as to prevent the crimes from happening again, concluded Necak.

The gathering was addressed by Edward Serotta, director of the Centropa. He reminded the participants that the centre for research and documentation made the film based on family photos and interviews with Holocaust survivors.

After the screening and opening speeches the OSCE PA parliamentarians and guests exchanged opinions on the film and discussed the Holocaust.