Phil Drell is a sprightly 83-year-old who lives in Skokie with his wife, Winnie, and a Yorkie named Eye Mo, which is the name of the camera he used to record World War II in all of its horrific, haunting, happy and honorable moments.
Drell went into the Army in 1942 and was later assigned to to the Special Motion Picture Coverage Unit, in which soldiers were divided into four-man photography/writing teams.
“I’d shoot the movies. A Piper Cub would be used to take the film for processing,” he says. “Then I would shoot stills for myself.”
The man in charge of the unit was George Stevens, who would direct such films as “Shane” and “Giant.” One of the writers on Drell’s team was Irwin Shaw, who would write such novels as “The Young Lions” and “Rich Man, Poor Man.” Another writer Drell got to know was William Saroyan, later to write the play “The Time of Your Life.”
Drell remembers a lot from that time. No day is fresher than Aug. 25, 1944.
He was standing on a bridge in Paris when German soldiers began shooting across the river at American soldiers.
Drell ran, entered the first building he came to and raced up to the second floor. He walked into an enormous room only to find German soldiers at each window, firing at his countrymen.
Unarmed, Drell “hid” behind his camera and began taking pictures, “as if it was the most natural thing in the world.”
To his surprise, the soldiers ran over to him and begged him to tell them how to surrender. He explained and the Germans gave up their guns. It wasn’t until later that Drell realized the irony in the fact that the entire conversation had taken place in Yiddish.
He and his camera would later bear witness to the ravaged survivors of the concentration camps. Those photos, like the one in Osgood’s picture, make up part of the slide show that Drell often presents. They are also in “Witness to the Holocaust,” an exhibit at Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg campus, 1400 N. Roosevelt Rd. It lasts until May 31. There is another show planned for June at the university’s main Michigan Avenue campus. The exhibitions are free and open to the public.
“His photos and slide presentation are fascinating,” says Osgood. “He was there, and he brings it all back with a hard honesty. There is great truth in his work.”
