EMMY Nominated!
Outstanding Historical Programming

WINNER Audience Award, Best Film
Charlotte Jewish Film Festival

Official Selection
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Museum of Jewish Heritage/NYC
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
San Diego Jewish Film Festival

Screenings
Museum of Jewish Heritage

“Heart-wrenching, thrilling and above all relevant.” – The New York Times

“A stirring account of determination against overwhelming odds.” – Publishers Weekly

“The astonishing story of a Philadelphia couple’s resolve to help bring Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria… With a careful eye to detail and dialogue, Pressman vividly re-creates this epic rescue.” – Kirkus

“Impressive… [A] daring and courageous accomplishment. Highly recommended.” – Booklist Starred Review

“[50 Children] serves up a powerful and sincere tribute to these long-forgotten heroes and their remarkable act of heroism. Highly Recommended.” -Video Librarian

Synopsis

Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus never intended to become heroes. But in early 1939, as conditions were worsening for Jews living inside Nazi Germany, the Philadelphia couple embarked on a risky and improbable mission – an effort to rescue 50 Jewish children and bring them to safety in the United States.

The couple faced imposing obstacles. The United States government, not to mention a vast majority of the American public, was largely indifferent to the plight of Jewish refugees seeking to escape from Adolf Hitler’s increasing persecution. America’s rigid immigration laws also made it nearly impossible to bring refugees – even children – into this country.

The Krauses, who were Jewish, also had to face the risks of traveling into Nazi Germany and dealing with the Gestapo and other Nazi officials in their effort to carry out their bold rescue plan.

In the spring of 1939, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus set out on a risky and seemingly impossible mission. In response to the oncoming horrors of the Holocaust and despite fierce opposition in the United States, the Jewish couple from Philadelphia traveled into the heart of Nazi Germany with one objective in mind: rescuing 50 Jewish children and bringing them into the safety of the United States. In carrying out their mission, two ordinary individuals turned into extraordinary heroes. Their incredible story has never been told…until now.

Director

Director

Steven Pressman (director, producer and writer) worked for many years as a newspaper and magazine journalist in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and received his undergraduate education at the University of California at Berkeley. 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus is Steven’s first documentary film.

Book

Book

Based on his acclaimed HBO documentary, Steven Pressman’s 50 Children tells the astonishing story of the improbable 1939 mission to rescue a group of Jewish children from Vienna and bring them into the safety of the United States.

Watch the Book Trailer and find ordering
information at: www.50childrenbook.com

“A ‘stirring account of determination against overwhelming odds’ with a ‘flowing narrative [that] breathes life into the America and Europe of 1938-39.” – Publishers Weekly

A conversation with the filmmaker/author digs into WWII-era immigration policy, perceptions of FDR and current European anti-Semitism – Times of Israel

“The astonishing story of a Philadelphia couple’s resolve to help bring Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria…. With a careful eye to detail and dialogue, Pressman vividly re-creates this epic rescue.” – Kirkus Reviews

USA Today Interview with Author/Director Steven Pressman

Cleveland Jewish News Interview

History