Susan Kerner & Steve McCarthy Present
SYNOPSIS
On a train to Auschwitz, 15-year-old Eva made a promise to her brother Heinz Geiringer. If he did not survive the camps, Eva promised to retrieve the paintings and poetry Heinz hid under the floorboards of his attic hiding place.
Heinz Geiringer’s story sits in the shadow of the better-known Diary of a Young Girl. After the war, Eva became the posthumous stepsister of Anne Frank when her mother married Anne’s father. While the world knows Anne’s story, this film introduces Heinz, his artistry, and his sister’s efforts to find and share his remarkable legacy.
Eva’s Promise is dedicated to the memory of Eva Geiringer Schloss:
May 11, 1929 – January 3, 2026
Credits
Directed by
STEVE McCARTHY
Produced by
SUSAN KERNER & STEVE McCARTHY
Edited by
RYAN McCARTHY
Camera by
JUSTIN McCARTHY
Titles by
ALISON McCARTHY
Special Thanks to ERIC SCHLOSS,
LIESBETH van der HORST & FILIP BLOEM, VERZETS RESISTANCE MUSEUM, NINA SIEGAL
Upcoming Screenings & Events
These PBS stations will broadcast Eva's Promise in 2025. Check the broadcast schedules for airing times/dates: Hawaii PBS, Idaho PBS, KCPT Kansas City, Missouri, Kentucky Educational Television, KRMA Denver, Colorado, KTWU Topeka, Kansas, KUED Salt Lake City, Utah, KUEN Ogden, Utah, KWSU Pullman, Washington, Maryland Public Television, WBGU Bowling Green, Ohio, WCET Cincinnati, Ohio, WEDU Tampa, Florida, WNET New York, New York, WTTW Chicago, Illinois, WVPT Richmond, Virginia.
Eva’s Promise: Teaching Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl through Her Childhood Friend
Join producer Susan Kerner to learn the story of Eva Geiringer Schloss and her promise to retrieve her brother Heinz's hidden artwork. Explore the film as a supplement to teaching Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl through the parallel lives of hiding, arrest, and deportation to Auschwitz in August 1944. Eva's Promise builds historical understanding and introduces a new perspective on the Diary. By introducing the part of Anne’s story she sadly didn’t live to tell, the film fosters empathy and creates context for teaching the human story of the Holocaust.
View the free webinar HERE
Connecticut College
Oliva Hall, Cummings Art Center, Connecticut College, New London, CT
Sunday, February 15th, 2026 3pm
Sponsored by Connecticut College, Lyman Allyn Museum, and the Jewish Federation of Eastern CT.
Q&A with Steve McCarthy and Susan Kerner after film.
To register email info@lymanallyn.org
Eva's Promise has been adopted into the curriculum of Tufts University, Medford, MA, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL
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Previous Screenings include:
Coolidge Corner Theatre (Brookline, MA)
JW3 in London with Eva Schloss
2022 Montclair Film Festival (3 showings)
NJ Jewish Film Festival
The American School in London
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
The Park Theatre (Jaffrey, New Hampshire)
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
The Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance (LA)
The Legacy Theatre (Branford, CT)
The Museum of Jewish Heritage (NYC)
Zekelman Holocaust Center (Farmington Hills, MI)
The Chicago Jewish Film Festival
Tufts University​
Waterstone on High Ridge (Stamford, CT)
Reading Jewish Film Festival (Reading, PA)
Temple Sharey-Tefilo Israel (South Orange, NJ)
WNET THIRTEEN (January 28th, 2025)
Empowered Minds: Anne Frank Exhibit Tour, Capital University (Columbus, Ohio)
Judy Levis Krug Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival (Boca Raton, FL)
Brazina Documentary Film Festival (Naples, FL)
JCC of Mid Westchester (Scarsdale, NY)
SUNY Buffalo
Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY
Winter Jewish Film Festival
Leo Baeck Institute, London
Museum of Romani Culture, Czech Republic
Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA
Orange County Jewish Film Festival
Festival of Tolerance in Ljubljana, Slovenia
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For screenings and talkbacks, contact 7th Art Releasing
For educational purchase, rental and Q&A sessions, contact Susan Kerner at kerners@montclair.edu.
Educators: DVDs and Flash Drives are now available for purchase. Vimeo links may be rented for educational use.
Educational Materials
Educator's Guide produced by Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
Click here to find a downloadable copy of the Educator's Guide
For all educational use questions, please contact Susan Kerner at kerners@montclair.edu
Heinz Geiringer: Artist and Poet
Consider the Source New York: Teaching With Historical Records launched Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides, a comprehensive resource guide featuring Heinz Geiringer’s paintings and poems and a 19 minute clip of Eva’s Promise.
Press & Links
Photos
