Skokie (film)
Encyclopedia
Skokie is a 1981 television movie
directed by Herbert Wise
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
television on March 3, 1997.
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
in the United States of America
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
) is a real person.
directed by Herbert Wise
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
television on March 3, 1997.
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
in the United States of America
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
) is a real person.
directed by Herbert Wise
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
television on March 3, 1997.
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
in the United States of America
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
) is a real person.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise is an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at Hull Rep and then as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep 1952-55...
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television on March 3, 1997.
Plot
The peace of Skokie, a comfortable ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
Frank Collin
Francis Joseph "Frank" Collin formerly served as the leader of the National Socialist Party of America, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie, Illinois was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, National Socialist Party of America...
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein
John Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier is an American human rights activist who serves as the president of the Open Society Institute and had earlier been Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and National Director of the American Civil Liberties Union....
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
David Hurst
David Hurst is a British-German actor.- Germany :Hurst grew up in a family of actors. His father was a member of the Austrian Theatre and appeared frequently at the Salzburg Festival, and was also a renowned director in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin...
) is a real person.
See also
- American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
- Heckler's vetoHeckler's vetoA heckler's veto occurs when an acting party's right to freedom of speech is curtailed or restricted by the government in order to prevent a reacting party's behavior...
- Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterIllinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterThe Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is the main memorial and educational center for The Holocaust in the Midwestern United States...
- Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
- National Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of assembly.-Facts of the case:...
- Skokie, IllinoisSkokie, IllinoisSkokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
External links
Skokie is a 1981 television movieTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise is an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at Hull Rep and then as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep 1952-55...
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television on March 3, 1997.
Plot
The peace of Skokie, a comfortable ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
Frank Collin
Francis Joseph "Frank" Collin formerly served as the leader of the National Socialist Party of America, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie, Illinois was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, National Socialist Party of America...
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein
John Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier is an American human rights activist who serves as the president of the Open Society Institute and had earlier been Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and National Director of the American Civil Liberties Union....
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
David Hurst
David Hurst is a British-German actor.- Germany :Hurst grew up in a family of actors. His father was a member of the Austrian Theatre and appeared frequently at the Salzburg Festival, and was also a renowned director in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin...
) is a real person.
See also
- American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
- Heckler's vetoHeckler's vetoA heckler's veto occurs when an acting party's right to freedom of speech is curtailed or restricted by the government in order to prevent a reacting party's behavior...
- Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterIllinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterThe Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is the main memorial and educational center for The Holocaust in the Midwestern United States...
- Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
- National Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of assembly.-Facts of the case:...
- Skokie, IllinoisSkokie, IllinoisSkokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
External links
Skokie is a 1981 television movieTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise is an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at Hull Rep and then as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep 1952-55...
, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
.
The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981. It was shown on the Israeli Educational television in the 1980s and on German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television on March 3, 1997.
Plot
The peace of Skokie, a comfortable ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb, is threatened when Frank Collin
Frank Collin
Francis Joseph "Frank" Collin formerly served as the leader of the National Socialist Party of America, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie, Illinois was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, National Socialist Party of America...
, a politically astute neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
organizer, selects the place as the site of his next rally. Close to 40 percent of the town’s population is Jewish and many of them are survivors of the Holocaust. They see the march as a warning and reminder of their days as concentration camp prisoners.
The Jewish community decides to stand against the rally at all cost to make sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten or allowed to happen again.
Moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
leaders Bert Silverman (Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
) and Abbot Rosen (Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
) advise the Jewish community to ignore the neo-Nazis; the strategy they put forward is “quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
”, isolating the meeting by totally ignoring the neo-Nazi presence and refusing to be provoked. The logic is simple: if the Jewish community refuses to acknowledge the rally and thus refuses to feed the media any publicity, the meeting will be futile and eventually forgotten.
However, one citizen challenges their argument. A Holocaust survivor, Max Feldman (Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
), says that he was told to ignore the Nazis nearly 40 years ago in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and before he knew it he was in a concentration camp. He says this time he will take action, and he is ready to shed blood if necessary. Led by this de-facto spokesman, most members of the community agree to protest. The film spans a year and a half of legal battles and explores the meaning of freedom and First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Although filmed after it became public knowledge that the neo-Nazi leader, Frank Collin, was actually an ethnic Jew, the film makes no mention of this fact. Nor is any mention made of Collin's 1979 conviction for child molestation.
The film intermixes real and fictional characters and events, including fictionalizing aspects of some of the main characters. For example, ACLU lawyer "Herb Lewisohn" (played by actor John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein
John Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
) is fictional, apparently based on David A. Goldberger who argued the case in real life, while ACLU national lawyer Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier
Aryeh Neier is an American human rights activist who serves as the president of the Open Society Institute and had earlier been Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and National Director of the American Civil Liberties Union....
(played by actor Stephen D. Newman) is a real person. Similarly, Holocaust survivor "Max Feldman" is fictional, while Holocaust survivor Sol Goldstein (played by actor David Hurst
David Hurst
David Hurst is a British-German actor.- Germany :Hurst grew up in a family of actors. His father was a member of the Austrian Theatre and appeared frequently at the Salzburg Festival, and was also a renowned director in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin...
) is a real person.
See also
- American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
- Heckler's vetoHeckler's vetoA heckler's veto occurs when an acting party's right to freedom of speech is curtailed or restricted by the government in order to prevent a reacting party's behavior...
- Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterIllinois Holocaust Museum and Education CenterThe Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is the main memorial and educational center for The Holocaust in the Midwestern United States...
- Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
- National Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of SkokieNational Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of assembly.-Facts of the case:...
- Skokie, IllinoisSkokie, IllinoisSkokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...