First-hand Accounts from the Jewish Brigade

With gratitude for the generosity of the family of Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Chuck Olin, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library is happy to announce the significant gift of the Olin Film Archive.

This collection consists of production elements from two PBS-broadcast documentaries; In Our Own Hands: The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II, and Is Jerusalem Burning? Myth, Memory and the Battle of Latrun. Both films, relying primarily on first-person accounts, tell the story of critical episodes in the formation of the nation-state of Israel.

The unedited versions of the first-person accounts contained in the collection offer the student or scholar a unique set of primary-source material. See the Archive inventory here:

In advance of the establishment of bibliographic control of the collection, the History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library will offer access by appointment. Please contact Celestina Savonius-Wroth (cswroth@illinois.edu or 217-300-3520) for further information.

PLEASE NOTE: Excerpts from, and access to, these materials are provided for scholarly, non-commercial purposes only. Copying and/or distribution without authorization is strictly prohibited. To purchase copies of Chuck Olin's films or obtain permission to reproduce content, please contact Chuck Olin Films.