Holocaust Survivor's Story To Be Adapted as Feature Film for Young Adults

Production company, launch flix, today announced that it has finalized an option agreement with Lerner Publishing Group for a feature film based on the life story of Holocaust survivor and author Henry A. Oertelt, based on his award-winning book An Unbroken Chain, My Journey through the Nazi Holocaust (© 2000, Lerner). The film will be marketed to young adults.

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) January 26, 2009 -- National Association of Television Production Executives (NATPE) Production company, launch flix, today announced that it has finalized an option agreement with Lerner Publishing Group for a feature film based on the life story of Holocaust survivor and author Henry A. Oertelt, based on his award-winning book An Unbroken Chain, My Journey through the Nazi Holocaust (© 2000, Lerner). Born in Berlin, of Jewish faith, Oertelt was 12 when Hitler came to power in 1933.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak to audiences for the past 40 years to share my message of tolerance and hope," Oertelt said. "This movie will enlighten new generations and help insure that the horrors I and others lived through will not be repeated."

On November 9, 1938, as a teenager, Oertelt witnessed first-hand the devastation of Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass," with his mother and brother. On that night, Hitler systematically unleashed a night of unparalleled destruction which many consider to be the start of the Holocaust. On that night Hitler's brown shirted storm troopers burned and demolished countless Jewish businesses, homes and temples, (including Oertelt's neighborhood synagogue), and began rounding up and transporting the first 30,000 of what would become six million Jews to concentration camps.

In An Unbroken Chain, Oertelt examines what he calls 18 separate but equally crucial "links" in the chain of events that kept him alive and ultimately led to his freedom. From the Nazi foreman who helped him escape the Gestapo, to the SS General who gave him the medical treatment he needed, Oertelt retraces the encounters and situations that changed his destiny. Although often sad and shocking, the remarkable events of Henry's life, as well as his amazing strength and hope will touch the lives and hearts of movie goers everywhere.

Eighty-eight year old Holocaust survivor Henry Oertelt was liberated by General Patton's Third Army during the Flossenburg Death March in April, 1945. He arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1949 and has spent 40 years lecturing about his experiences and the importance of tolerance, political involvement, and confronting hatred. Oertelt is a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council's (JCRC) Holocaust Education Commission, a recipient of JCRC's "Volunteer of the Year" award, as well as recipient of the distinguished "Eleven Who Care" honor from KARE 11-TV in Minnesota. On April 23, 2006, St. Paul, Minnesota, honored him with the key to the city and proclaimed "Henry A. Oertelt Day." Oertelt is additionally a recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees from St. Cloud State University and SouthWest Minnesota State University.

About launch flix
launch flix is an award-winning production company with offices in Phoenix and Los Angeles that creates and produces original content, including films, shorts, and web videos that inform, entertain and educate diverse audiences. The company focuses on "green" production, Internet marketing, and profitability to give its partners the highest return on investment. For more information on launch flix or the movie, An Unbroken Chain, visit www.launchflix.com.

About Lerner Publishing Group
Lerner Publishing Group, based in Minneapolis, is one of the nation's largest independently owned children's book publishers. With more than 3,500 titles in print, Lerner Publishing Group offers top-quality nonfiction and fiction books for grades K-12. An Unbroken Chain is available at bookstores nationwide or through Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group. For more information visit www.karben.com.

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