Panel Discussion to Cover ‘The Anne Frank of Lithuania’

Faculty and staff are invited to a panel discussion on Finding Matilda: The Anne Frank of Lithuania, a documentary that explores how a team of scientists, scholars, students and volunteers discovered the grave of Matilda Olkin and her family, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Dean Dr. Philip Reeder was part of the team that conducted the research near Rokiskis, Lithuania in 2018. Olkin and her family were murdered by Nazi sympathizers in 1941. A talented Jewish poet and a college student at the University of Vilnius, Olkin, like Anne Frank, kept a diary that was discovered after her death.

Reeder’s extensive research in Lithuania during the last several years has expanded student horizons, as he has brought archeological samples from sites around Vilnius for study by students in Duquesne’s Forensic Science and Law program.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to register to view the premier prior to the panel discussion with Reeder, the filmmaker and other members of the research team.

After registering, attendees will receive two links via email. The first link will provide access to the 20-minute film so it can be viewed prior to the panel discussion. The second link provides access to the panel discussion.

The film’s trailer is available and an article about this research appeared in Smithsonian Magazine.