Living History

September 1, 1939 fell on my father's 15th birthday.   The sound of what he thought was thunder woke him early that morning in his Polish town.   He told me that his mother, who had lived through the First World War, recognized that a man-made storm was about to engulf the country.  That was the last birthday he was able to celebrate with her.  It wasn't long before she was shot dead.

September 11, 2011 was a few days before my son's 15th birthday.  He was at Stuyvesant High School, just a few short blocks north of the tower. His grandfather noted how quickly a 15 year old grows up after witnessing carnage.

Certain historical moments are inscribed in the very souls of those who survive them.  

Today, September 2, 2025, marks the end of World War II with the surrender of the Japanese.   CNN interviewed three men who were stationed aboard the USS Missouri and witnessed the surrender ceremony.  These men were 100 years old and remarkably articulate.  

Watching them on TV, I was overwhelmed by the irrational wish that these men could somehow continue to live on and on, witnessing and surviving history, so that there would always be a permanent living connection to what had  happened.  So that none of it could be denied or contorted by some vile force.

This desire to capture living history is what fueled my decision to make a documentary about a little known chapter of our history.  Most Holocaust stories end with liberation.  But what happened next?  We have more than 100 hours of living testimony from Holocaust survivors, who formed new communities - however temporary - in the land of the murderers right after World War II.   By being with others like themselves, by regaining some autonomy (although they were still stateless) over their daily affairs, by falling in love and starting new families - they healed one another.   Our film explore how this healing happened,  tapping into universal truths about human resilience.