Great Performances Presents Holocaust Witness Play “Remember This”

• Christina Zeiders
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  Christina Zeiders is the Communications Specialist at WITF. She helps get the word out about all of WITF's programs, events and community conversations.

In a powerful solo performance, Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Nomadland, Good Night, and Good Luck, Lincoln) tells the true story of reluctant World War II hero and Holocaust witness Jan Karski – and more than 30 other characters – in Great Performances: Remember This.

Watch the premiere on WITF TV on Monday, March 13 at 9pm, with an encore broadcast on Sunday, April 16 at 6pm. You can also stream Remember This for free using the PBS or WITF app until April 11, 2023.

After surviving the devastation of the Blitzkrieg, Karski swears allegiance to the Polish Underground and risks his life to carry the first eyewitness reports of the Holocaust to the Western world, and ultimately, the Oval Office. Escaping a Gestapo prison, bearing witness to the despair of the Warsaw ghetto and confronted by the barbaric inhumanity of a death camp, Karski endures mental anguish and physical torture to stand tall and speak the truth.

At times addressing the audience directly, Strathairn communicates a story of moral courage and individual responsibility that has become even more urgent for today’s world. Presented in stark black and white, the intimate film utilizes a minimal set that transforms into many locations using dramatic lighting effects.

Remember This is produced by Eva Anisko and directed by Jeff Hutchens and Derek Goldman. It is based on the play Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, which was originally produced by the Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics at Georgetown University.

Watch Great Performances: Remember This on Monday, March 13 at 9pm on WITF TV, or stream it on-demand for free until April 11 using the PBS or WITF app. Get more time to stream this film and other Great Performances shows by becoming a WITF Passport member.