Friday Kanopy Movie Pick: After Auschwitz

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On May 8, 1945, the Allies of World War II formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany, which became known as Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day). In honor of the 75th anniversary of  V-E Day, our Friday Kanopy movie pick is the documentary After Auschwitz. This documentary chronicles the lives of six female Holocaust survivors who immigrate to Los Angeles to rebuild their lives after WWII. After being silenced for three decades, these women finally get a chance to tell their stories of the homeland they left behind and the difficulty of acclimating to American life.

V-E Day in America

New York’s Times Square was the site of the largest V-E Day celebration in the United States. The New York Times announced that over 15,000 police officers would be on duty “to ensure that celebrants are held within the bounds of sane and reasonable hilarity.” President Truman, however, did not encourage excessive celebration and reminded the country that many Americans had lost loved ones in the war. He was also focused on the war with Japan, stating “our victory is only half over.”

How to use Kanopy

Kanopy is a streaming service that is free to use with your WPL card. Your account has 4 watch credits per month. If you do not use your credits, they do not roll over to the next month. You will see a "play credit tracker" at the top right of your library's Kanopy platform to alert you of how many play credits you have remaining for the month.

To use a play credit, you must press play on a video and have the video play for at least 5 seconds. Once a play credit is logged, you will have a full 3 days (72 hours) to watch the video as many times as you would like without using another play credit, even if a new month starts and your credits reset. Your Viewing History will show any video that is still available to view in your 3 day window. After the 3 day window has expired, another play credit will be used if you press play on the video again.

Kanopy is currently offering credit-free viewing for select films. If you watch any of the movies on this list, you will not be using your credits. Once you log into your account, click the “credit free viewing" link on the top.