“Misa’s Fugue” Inspiration Frank Grunwald Passes Away at 90

Holocaust survivor Frank “Misa” Grunwald, subject of the FAHS film “Misa’s Fugue”, has passed away at age 90 in Indianapolis from cancer.

Grunwald was a Holocaust survivor; that is the primary focus of “Misa’s Fugue”, a documentary that tells the story of his and his family’s experience in the Holocaust. He recently died at 90-years-old. He leaves behind an unforgettable perspective on one of the most tragic events in history.

The documentary, “Misa’s Fugue”, was a production to which many students and staff from Fleetwood Area High School contributed. Their combined efforts created a film that was nominated for two Emmy awards, along with telling a tale of a man and his substantial perspective on one of the most complex and significant experiences in human history. It was a project that started in 2010 and premiered on April 16th, 2012.

“I would like to put up a banner from one of the screenings at the Miller Center, at Millersville University. I would also include an obituary with Frank’s picture on it. We would like to hang it by the lobby in the main office. The obituary, which he wrote himself a year prior to his death, specifically mentions Fleetwood Area High School, myself, and the rest of the producers for his film,” Misa’s Fugue director and FAHS media teacher Sean Gaston said.

“Frank Grunwald was eight or nine years old when he was living in the Czech Republic. He was a Jewish victim of the Holocaust, his mother and his brother dying during it. The film was a way to tell his story to the world–It’s him telling his story in the first person. It has a lot of heavy imagery, for example, his artwork, as he grew up in a very artistic household and used visual mediums to come to terms with his horrific experiences. A lot of the visuals are also produced by Fleetwood students,” screenwriter and FAHS English teacher Zachary Houp said.

“The film continues the message to ‘never forget,’ to remind people that The Holocaust exists and the story shouldn’t be forgotten, especially now that Frank is gone and can’t tell the story himself. Frank’s family didn’t know the full story at first because it was such a difficult experience for him to share. In addition, it shows people the atrocities and oppression of that time. The film also demonstrates that art, while not the only benefit, is a good way to cope after a traumatizing experience,” Houp says.

“It took us twenty-two months to produce the film. It was produced by eleven different faculty members that span seven different departments and over two hundred students. Some kids continued to work on the film from college. All of the music in the film was written by a student, Justin Reinert. Chuck Ebersole helped the students play the music. Mrs. Cathy Williamson did stuff for the choir. Mrs. Shuey played the theme written by Justin for the film. It’s a haunting, melodic piece of the violin–the ‘fugue’ portion of the title,” Gaston said.

The effort of all of the Fleetwood students and staff has helped contribute to a film that depicts a very emotional and telling story of Grunwald. As a benefit of telling this tale, Grunwald has helped many people get a better perspective on the horrors of the Holocaust. Even after this passing, he will continue to live on in the Fleetwood community indefinitely.