Collaborative Akron Documentary receives State and National Attention

 May 24, 2019

Recently Toivo Motter, Education Director at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, gave an interview for the National World War I Centennial on the documentary Lost Voices of the Great War: Summit County in the First World War. Lost Voices was a collaborative work that involved historians and archivists from Summit County. The film features letters written by soldiers and civilians, read out to a backdrop of original photos and modern recreations. Though the letters in the video come from Summit County servicemen, the resulting documentary speaks to the national experience during World War I.

World War I Centennial Commission: New Local WWI documentary from Akron, OH has wide appeal

The documentary has also been getting attention within Ohio. In April, Lost Voices received an Ohio Museums Association Award of Achievement for Best Community Project. Toivo and Vic Fleischer, University Archivist at the University of Akron, accepted the award at the annual awards ceremony on April 14. The film has also been nominated for a regional Emmy Award.

Toivo Motter and Vic Fleischer accepting an Ohio Museums Association award for Lost Voices

Lost Voices originally aired in October, 2018, and was screened at the Ohio Statehouse on November 11, 2018, as part of the Armistice Day 100 commemoration. You can view the documentary through the link below:

https://www.pbs.org/video/lost-voices-of-the-great-war-summit-county-in-wwi-2hem5i/