By Christina Staudt

Apr. 26, 2017:  The Friends of Sarah Lawrence College Library invite the community to a screening of the documentary Dear Babe on Friday, April 28, at 4:00 pm. A conversation between the filmmaker, Rosanne Ehrlich, and Sarah Lawrence College film professor Robin Starbuck will follow the one-hour film. The event will take place in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center and will include a reception afterward with the filmmaker.

When Mike Siegelbaum joined the army in 1943, he left behind his pregnant wife, Hazel, and their young daughter, Rosanne. Almost every day for two years--during basic training and from the European front--Mike wrote a letter to Hazel, beginning each one with "Dear Babe." His daughter, a Sarah Lawrence College alumna, took this salutation as the title for the documentary she created based on these letters after her father's death. Intertwined with the reading of the letters are World War II newsreels, archival footage, family pictures, and interviews with Hazel and other family members. The result is a simultaneously personal and universal story.

The film follows Mike, an idealistic young Jewish-American man who joins the war to fight fascism but transforms into a disillusioned man who has witnessed the horror of the Holocaust during the liberation of the Ohrdruf concentration camp. It is the story of one soldier's life, with events elevated to universal significance in Mike's anecdotes about army life and his commentaries on patriotism, race, and the purpose of war, and in the deep love and longing he shows for his family back in America.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested but not required; for more information and to make reservations, contact Janet Alexander, 914-395-2432 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..