Lifesavers Speaker Series: The story of five families who survived WWII by living underground in Ukrainian caves, and the American caver who discovered their story
Featuring the film No Place on Earth and talk-back with talk-back with Director Janet Tobias and the explorer who first discovered the story, Chris Nicola
The remarkable true story of No Place on Earth starts out as a mystery. While exploring some of the longest caves in the world in southwestern Ukraine in the 1990s, American caver Chris Nicola stumbled onto unusual objects...an antique ladies shoe and comb, old buttons, an old world key. Was the vague rumor true, that some Jews had hid in this cave during WWII and if so, had any survived to tell their tale? 67 years later, Chris leads four of the survivors back to Ukraine to say thank you to “the cave.”
Program will feature a screening of the film No Place on Earth and be followed by a conversation with explorer Chris Nicola and film director Janet Tobias.
Signed copies of Chris Nicola's book about this subject, Priest’s Grotto: The Start to the Story, will be sold after the program.
$10/person
Registration is now closed. Walk-ins welcome.
Made possible with a generous gift from Jason Weiner and Nicole Zatlyn, this ongoing series invites the community inside our historic building to hear fascinating stories from people saving lives every day.
Public Transit, Driving, and Walking Directions:
The closest T subway stop is Charles/MGH. Validated parking for $5 per car is available nearby and ONLY for the underground parking at the Charles River Plaza/Cambridge Street Garage at 165 Cambridge Street nearby. Please be advised that drivers must validate their green parking ticket at the Vilna Shul for validated parking. This is not the above-ground Whole Foods lot.
For detailed directions to the Vilna, please click the following link to our Hours, Directions, and Parking page of our website. If you have any questions, email events@vilnashul.org or call (617) 523-2324.