CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The discovery of a locked metal box under concrete in what had been a dry goods store decades ago in Goshen, Indiana unlocked the secrets of one family and led to a documentary that’s premiering this week.
Steve Gruber’s grandfather and great grandfather, Sidney and David Plaut, witnessed the mounting persecution of Jews in Germany and came to America opening a dry goods store in Goshen.
“I just knew there was more to the story,” Gruber said.
Gruber told WSBT in South Bend a few years ago the new owners of the store contacted his mother. They had found a locked metal box.
“Under a slab and a desk was over that. So clearly, it was not meant to be found,” Gruber said.
Inside was documentation of efforts to get family members and strangers — 28 in all — out of Germany.
Gruber said he believes the box was hidden because his grandfather was ashamed he couldn’t do more.
He produced the documentary film, “Vital Passage:A Holocaust Rescue Story.”
“It is really a story about immigration in the United States,” Gruber said.
The film is showing on Thursday evening. Free tickets can be found on the Lerner Theater in Elkhart’s website.
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