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On Yom HaShoah, Three New Holocaust Films Are Worth Watching
The entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
As we mark Yom HaShoah this year, three Holocaust films stand out.
The first is a gripping drama about the first Jewish escape from a death camp. The World Will Tremble is directed by Lior Geller and features excellent acting by Oliver-Jackson Cohen, who plays Solomon, a Jew who makes an unlikely escape from Chelmno. The cast of Jews and Germans is all stellar but Geller, who wrote and directed the film, is the real star. Geller crafted a gripping film that soaks you in a bath of horror and despair only to embrace you with a towel of freedom and hope. It is an impressive movie that is full of heart, and tells a story that is not well known.
UnBroken is a documentary that shares the seemingly implausible story of seven Jewish siblings who survived the Holocaust, largely due to gentile farmers who chose to hide them. It is directed with deft and passion by Beth Lane, who goes to Germany to see the places where her family, including her mother, hid.
Unbroken explains how Lane’s grandmother was extremely daring, and when she loved a Christian man, she got him to convert. There is some unexpected humor toward the beginning of the film, and at a time when few survivors are alive, it is a blessing to see a film in which some appear and are completely cogent. The film is also based on the writings of Alfons, one of the seven siblings who survived. Was that result due to luck, kindness of farmers, or the work of God? The film is not overly preachy and allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions.
Lane’s film is an exquisite look at how the morality of two people can impact more than 70 lives, as the siblings have children and grandchildren. At one point, Lane asks if young people today would risk their lives to hide her. We can never really know what one would really do, but I suspect that few would risk their lives to save strangers.
Both The World Will Tremble and UnBroken would be excellent choices to show high school or college classes.
And if you want to learn about something you most certainly haven’t heard of, none other than the iconic Martin Scorsese has done an episode of his series The Saints that involves an unexpected hero of the Holocaust. Available on Fox Nation, the episode tells of Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest who started the first Christian radio station in Poland. Interestingly, Kolbe at one time preached antisemitism, believing that the sick conspiracy book The Protocols of The Elders of Zion was actually true.
But that did not stop him from doing something unthinkable when the Gestapo sent him to Auschwitz. When one Jew escaped, a Nazi decided 10 would have to die. When Kolbe heard that one Jewish man cried that he had a wife and child, Kolbe asked the Nazi if he could be killed instead. He agreed. And a Jewish man named Franciszek Gajowniczek was saved, and lived until 1995 and attended the canonization of Kolbe.
There is not much dialogue, but the acting of Milivoje Obradovic is strong as Kolbe, who isn’t dramatic, doesn’t yell and chooses his fate to die for a Jew as if it is a totally normal request, even though the Nazi seems dumbfounded.
It is unclear whether or not he realized The Protocols of The Elders of Zion was a lie, or he simply realized that the barbarity of the Holocaust was an affront to God. Earlier in the episode, as a child, he says he wants to be pure and a martyr and may have been affected by his father’s death.
At a time when some people think they know all of the Holocaust stories already out there, here are three new ones — and all are worth telling.
The author is a writer based in New York.
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Antisemitic Incidents in the Netherlands Surge to Record Levels, New Report Finds
March 29, 2025, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands: A pro-Palestinian demonstrator burns a hand-fashioned Israeli flag. Photo: James Petermeier/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
Antisemitism in the Netherlands surged to alarming levels last year, according to a new report, which found that anti-Jewish incidents across the country reached a “worrying record” last year even after a historic spike following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) — a Dutch Jewish human rights organization that monitors antisemitism — on Thursday released its annual report on antisemitic incidents for 2024, showing an 11 percent increase over the previous all-time high recorded in 2023.
Last year, CIDI recorded 421 antisemitic incidents, a sharp increase from the average of 138 incidents per year the country had experienced from 2012 to 2022, prior to the Hamas-led onslaught on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war.
“This is the highest number since CIDI started keeping track of reports 40 years ago,” Naomi Mestrum, the organization’s director, said in a statement, adding that preliminary data from the first quarter of 2025 “suggests that the trend is continuing.”
In 2024 heeft het aantal antisemitische incidenten in Nederland een zorgwekkend record bereikt. Er werden 421 meldingen bij CIDI gedaan, een stijging van 11% t.o.v. 2023, dat al een historisch hoog aantal incidenten liet zien.https://t.co/IbOL4YHxnW pic.twitter.com/ffvJ5tTv1w
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) April 24, 2025
In the last two years, the number of antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands has surged by 305 percent compared to its average from 2012 to 2022, prompting local Jewish community leaders to call on authorities to take stronger action against the rising wave of antisemitic harassment following the Hamas atrocities in Israel.
According to the study, the Hamas-Israel war is often used as a justification for antisemitism. The report also observed a rise in antisemitic hate crimes in public settings, where visibly identifiable Jews were more frequently subjected to insults, threats, and intimidation.
“The most dramatic increases were seen in public spaces, where antisemitic incidents surged by 45 percent,” CIDI said in a statement. “Visibly Jewish individuals were increasingly subjected to verbal abuse, threats and harassment.”
Last year, Israeli soccer fans were violently attacked in Amsterdam after watching the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team compete against the Dutch club Ajax in a European League match. At the time, Femke Halsema, the city’s mayor, called the attackers “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” who went “Jew hunting.”
The 117-page document by CIDI also recorded a 44 percent increase in vandalism targeting Jewish property.
In several universities across the Netherlands, there has been a rise in anti-Israel protests where antisemitic slogans are frequently chanted. As a result of ongoing threats and intimidation, the report said Jewish students are increasingly avoiding classes.
According to the study, antisemitism has also spread across social media and other online platforms, with hateful messages and antisemitic stereotypes becoming more widespread and normalized.
“Social media algorithms play a major role in strengthening and spreading antisemitic ideas more quickly,” Mestrum said.
However, CIDI noted that its figures did not include social media activity, which it is investigating separately.
Regarding the 421 incidents recorded last year, the Dutch group said it received about 1,700 reports in total but only counted those it assessed as being “indisputably antisemitic.”
In light of its findings, CIDI urged for a “strong and consistent government response” to combat rising antisemitism and ensure the safety of the Jewish community.
“That means investing in education, but also a firm and visible approach to antisemitism in schools and social media, stopping subsidies to cultural institutions that exclude Jewish artists, banning terrorist and extremist groups that spread hatred, and implementing a zero-tolerance policy in the criminal prosecution of anti-Semitic crimes,” the statement read.
The Dutch government’s National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism, Eddo Verdoner, called CIDI’s findings “shameful,” stating that antisemitic expressions are becoming increasingly common.
“I hear heartbreaking stories from children, students, and adults who are harassed and mocked because of their Jewish identity,” Verdoner wrote in a post on X. “They hide a Star of David necklace, don’t dare to wear a kippah, or conceal their Jewish background out of fear.”
The Netherlands, which saw the highest percentage of Jewish victims in Western Europe during World War II, with at least 75 percent of its Jewish population being murdered, is now home to approximately 40,000 Jews.
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‘Never Again Means Now’: Trump Issues Proclamation Recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, on the day he signs executive orders, at the White House in Washington, DC, March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Wednesday night recognizing Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Yom HaShoah, acknowledging the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
“On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and during this week of solemn remembrance, we honor the blessed memories of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were viciously slaughtered by the genocidal Nazi regime and their collaborators — one of the bleakest hours in human history,” Trump said in a statement.
Yom HaShoah is dedicated to remembering the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, along with millions of other victims of the Nazi genocide. The somber annual commemoration, which is observed primarily in Israel and by Jewish communities worldwide, typically falls in April or May, on the 27th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar.
“During these Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, we reflect upon the dark affront to human dignity posed by Nazis,” Trump said. “We cherish the eternal memories of all those whose lives were lost to the deadly scourge of anti-Semitism. Above all, we vow to never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust. We declare that never again means now.”
Trump emphasized the continued threat of antisemitism, particularly in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel. He warned of what he described as a surge in antisemitic incidents in the United States, especially on college campuses, which he referred to as “leftist, anti-American.”
Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to tackling antisemitism, Trump pointed to an executive order he signed that ordered the federal government to combat anti-Jewish harassment with all necessary legal force. This includes investigating antisemitic discrimination and, in some cases, deporting resident aliens who break US laws.
“The poison of antisemitism tragically still exists,” Trump said, pledging to confront hatred and discrimination.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to deport non-citizens who express support for Hamas and other antisemitic terrorist organizations. He has also promised not to import refugees from “terror-infested” parts of the world, deeming them hotbeds of antisemitism and anti-American sentiment.
“We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers, and we will deport them very quickly. And Hamas supporters will be gone,” Trump said during one campaign stop. “If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country. We really don’t want you in our country.”
The administration has come under intense scrutiny for apprehending and revoking the visas of non-citizens who have participated in pro-Hamas demonstrations, arguing that they pose a national security threat to the US. Moreover, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will monitor social media platforms for antisemitic speech and conduct as a basis for denying permanent residency status and immigration benefits. However, critics of these efforts argue that the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism has undermined free speech rights.
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Meta Israel Launches Fifth Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Instagram Project With Israeli Celebrities
Eden Golan meeting with a Holocaust survivor as part of the initiative “Sharing Memories.” Photo: Provided
Meta Israel launched on Wednesday its fifth annual Holocaust remembrance project in which prominent Israeli public figures share testimonies of Holocaust survivors on their Instagram accounts, in an effort to connect their stories with younger generations in honor of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Sharing Memories,” an initiative that started in 2020, will include this year testimonies of Holocaust survivors who were impacted by the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. Some of the survivors are residents of communities near the Israel-Gaza border and were directly affected by the Oct. 7 attack. Twenty of their stories were posted on social media as an Instagram Reels by 20 Israeli celebrities, including actors, singers, models, reality stars, and social media influencers. These well-known individuals met with the Holocaust survivor they with paired with, listened to their story during an intimate conversation, and documented the survivor’s testimony in a video they then uploaded on their Instagram page.
This year’s participants include model Eden Fines; Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest; influencer and entrepreneur Einav Booblil; Olympic bronze medalist and judoka Peter Paltchik; “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” stars Hila Saada and Yuval Scharf; reality television star Yiftach Ramon and singer Valerie Hamaty. The leading Israeli figures have more than 7 million Instagram followers combined. As part of “Sharing Memories,” a special meeting was also organized in Munich between Munich-born Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch and Daniel Peretz, the goalkeeper for Israel’s national soccer team and FC Bayern Munich who currently lives in Germany.
The videos created for “Sharing Memories” were uploaded on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began Wednesday night. This year, the content will also be broadcast throughout Ben Gurion International Airport. QR codes at boarding gates and check-in counters will allow travelers to scan and view the full videos. The clips will additionally be shown on EL AL in-flight entertainment systems, both inbound and outbound flights to and from Israel, during the week of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As part of a collaboration with Yes, the Israeli broadcast satellite television provider, all project videos will also be available for viewing in Israel on STING+ and yesVOD.
“For five years now, we’ve had the privilege of meeting with Holocaust survivors who open their hearts and share the most painful moments of their lives, so we can remember, learn, and carry their stories forward,” said Adi Soffer Teeni, vice president and general manager of Meta Platforms in Israel. “But this year, perhaps more than ever, we understood that their story is not only one of survival; it’s one of resilience and rebuilding. The Holocaust survivors did not just endure the horrors, they built lives: they came to Israel, raised families, created communities, and built a future. Now, their stories of rebuilding take on renewed meaning. More than ever, we can draw strength from their testimonies: how to rise after horror, hold on to hope, and choose optimism and life. This is not just remembrance. It’s a legacy for the next generation.”
One Holocaust and Oct. 7 survivor highlighted in “Sharing Memories” is Bella Haim. Born in Poland in 1938, she survived the Holocaust by hiding in an orphanage until the end of World War II. Haim lives in Kibbutz Gvulot and is the grandmother of Yotam Haim, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza who was kidnapped by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. She met with Israeli rap duo Ness & Stilla, who created the song “Harbu Darbu,” to share her story of survival. She also played for the musicians the last voice message she received from her grandson mere moments before he was taken hostage. He later escaped captivity but was accidentally killed, along with two other hostages, by IDF troops in December 2023.
Mirjam Beit Talmi Szpiro, 90, endured her father being murdered by the Nazis in Germany in 1935. She survived the Holocaust in hiding and now lives in Kibbutz Zikim. She survived the Oct. 7 attack, by sheltering in her safe room. She met with Israeli actor Yehuda Levi to talk about her experiences for the “Sharing Memories” initiative.
The project also highlights the survival story of Arale Dvir. He was born in Poland and escaped to Siberia on a freight train before fleeing to Uzbekistan, where his mother and sister died. Upon his arrival in Israel, he was adopted by a family in Kibbutz Sa’ad, where he survived the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. He still lives in Kibbutz Sa’ad and met with Israeli content creator Einav Bublil to share his story for the project.
Knobloch, who met with Peretz in Munich, shared memories of Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi assault on the German Jewish community on Nov. 9-10, 1938. After surviving the Holocaust, Knobloch returned to Munich and, alongside her father, she reestablished the Jewish community there, which is now the largest in Germany. The city’s Jewish Center was inaugurated in 2006, and it includes kindergartens, schools, a Jewish museum, and a grand synagogue.
Other well-known Israeli participants of this year’s “Sharing Memories” initiative include Adi Himelbloy, Adva Dadon, Daniel Shalibo, Eitam Dror, Alin Golan and Liam Golan, Ifat Hilleli Avraham, Moran Tarasov, Neta Barzani, Roi Harel, Yarden Harel. The Holocaust survivors who took part in this year’s project are Adela Moreno, Arie Pinsker, Gideon Lotan, David Sivor, Dina Shmueli, Tommy Shaham, Yona Amit, Yoske Hershkovitz, Yechiel Frenkel, Lea Balint, Miriam Harel, Nina Aviov, Naftali Rosendorn, Aliza Landau, Tzipora Grant, and Sara Perry.
“Sharing Memories” is a collaboration between Meta Israel and Shem VeNer (Our 6 Million), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations. The project has already featured more than 100 creators, artists, and influencers. Content shared on social media as part of the “Sharing Memories” campaign has garnered over 40 million views in Israel and around the world.
“We are proud to take part in this year’s project to honor Holocaust survivors, listen to their stories, and preserve their living testimony for generations to come,” said Ruha Vaknin Sha’ar, CEO of Our 6 Million. “As their numbers dwindle, our responsibility grows.”
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