A new film by award-winning filmmaker Aviva Kempner that delivers on her well-known affinity for storytelling.
Berg grew up in an immigrant Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey. He caught and fielded for five American baseball teams from the 1920s through 1939 during baseball’s Golden Age. Berg also had a secret life spying on the Japanese during his time with the All American team’s tour of Japan and later working for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.
From Hank Greenberg to Moe Berg, the Ciesla Foundation scores with another film about baseball, history, and heroism.
Award-winning filmmaker Aviva Kempner has another little known Jewish hero in her camera lens and is making the first feature-length documentary about Morris “Moe” Berg, an enigmatic baseball player turned spy.
From the Blog
The Spy Behind Home Plate is a documentary about Moe Berg, an enigmatic Jewish catcher during baseball’s Golden Age before joining the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to spy for the U.S. on the Nazis’ atomic bomb program.
From the Washington Post: There’s precedent for Bryce Harper leaving Washington. It happened 84 years ago.
Moe Berg played with Walter Johnson, featured in a recent article from the Washington Post. Johnson is a character in The Ciesla Foundation's upcoming documentary on Moe Berg and his grandson is interviewed. To read the article, click...
General William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan
(January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) As leaders gather in Paris to commemorate the end of World War 1, The Ciesla Foundation would like to share the story of a hero, General William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan. In 1907, Donovan graduated from Columbia Law School and...
Remembering Pearl Harbor – Moe Berg’s Broadcast
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack led the United States to formally enter World War II and prompted Moe Berg to retire from baseball and take a post as a Goodwill Ambassador to Latin America. Before he left for South America, Berg...
Babe Ruth Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
Baseball legend George Herman “Babe” Ruth will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United State’s highest civilian honor, today Friday, November 16. A White House press release listed Ruth among seven American icons who will be honored. His career spanned...
AMERICAN MASTERS: Ted Williams: ‘The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived
In anticipation of the documentary “AMERICAN MASTERS: Ted Williams: ‘The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived’ airing on PBS tonight (7/23) at 9:00 pm Aviva reminisces on her phone interview with Ted Williams in the making of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. In a bonus...
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