Veterans of War

3 Generations has been telling the stories of veterans since 2011. We have supported efforts to help veterans return to work, seek appropriate mental health support as needed, and told the stories of veterans of earlier wars. Soldiers at war and returning veterans face many challenges. They are confronted with invisible wounds as well as physical ones. 

3G has produced over a dozen videos for our website and two short documentaries: A Different Kind of War in 2013 and Go Debbie in 2018. In the past few years, we have added two more short films that focus on war veterans, the undeniable challenges during and after wartime, and uncovering the histories of war. 

3 Generations documentary Preserving the Holocaust (2021) tells the story of a dedicated group of young Polish conservators preserving artifacts 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau that refute Holocaust denial and honor those murdered there. We visited Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a recent project and were deeply moved by the behind-the-scenes dedication of the conservators. We made this short film to honor and memorialize their contributions. 3G is pleased to announce our founder and director has received Winner, Best Female Director, New York Tri-State Area Film Festival 2023 and Winner, Best Documentary Short,  New York Tri-State Area Film Festival 2023 for this film. 

Our film, A Kaddish for Selim (2022), has been named Official Selection, Women Over 50 Film Festival, 2023. This film tells the story of a young British Jew, on the eve of WWI had to change his name to join the army to fight and die for King and Empire. When war broke out in 1914, he is sent to Egypt and then Gallipoli. Assembled from recently discovered family photographs and letters, this short film tells the story of a child of immigrants who died for their adopted country. A story that is still familiar today: for what clearer sign of assimilation and loyalty is there than to volunteer to fight for one’s country? The challenges Jews faced in Britain a century ago were a friction point in the First World War, yet many served loyally, and A Kaddish for Selim tells the story of one of the two thousand three hundred who died.

Help 3 Generations tell the stories of both soldiers and veterans and help us raise awareness of the mental and emotional crises they face. Hear their stories. Demand change. To watch these two documentaries, stories of courageous veterans, and more of our films, please visit our website at 3generations.org and connect with us on social media at @3_generations.

Since 2001, America has deployed over 2 million military personnel to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas in support of the global war on terror. As troops return home to their families, friends, and communities, they face an entirely different set of challenges: the struggle of reintegration and, for many, PTSD.

Each year on June 27th, National PTSD Awareness Day recognizes the effects post-traumatic stress has on the lives of those impacted by it. We had the honor of interviewing Dr. Sonja V. Batten, a clinical psychologist with a specialization in traumatic stress. In her words: “PTSD first became an official mental health condition with specific criteria in 1980. PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety disorder that can occur when somebody experiences an event that they feel their life has been in danger, they were at risk of being severely injured or maybe they saw something horrific that happened in front of them. People may experience problems with having trouble sleeping, having images of the event come back to them when they're not trying to think about it, feel alert all the time, become emotionally numb or avoid things that remind them of the event. And those symptoms go on for a period of time and affect the person's functioning in their day to day life. With veterans, we may first think of PTSD being the result of a combat event. Veterans, just like any other individual, can also develop PTSD as a result of sexual trauma, a car accident, a training accident.” 

According to the PTSD Foundation of America, an estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, while about 30 percent of service members who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. Typically, only 50 percent of PTSD sufferers seek treatment. 

3 Generations has been telling the stories of veterans since 2011. We have produced over a dozen videos for our website as well as two short films. We have supported efforts to help veterans return to work, seek appropriate mental health support as needed and told the stories of veterans of earlier wars. To watch this interview and other stories of courageous veterans, please visit our website here and connect with us on social media at @3_generations.