Students Visit Auschwitz to Honor Survivor's Mission

When high school students stood in Auschwitz, following the footsteps of Holocaust survivor Eva Libitzky, they realized something profound: her story was also their story.

Director Hershey Felder captured this emotional journey in "The Assembly," a documentary screening May 4 at Redwood City's Fox Theatre. The film follows a group of performing arts students from San Diego as they travel through Poland, learning about Libitzky's survival and her lifelong mission to teach young people about the dangers of hate.

Libitzky survived the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz before dedicating her life to educating students worldwide. She was scheduled to speak at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in 2019, but sadly died from COVID-19 before making the trip.

Felder decided to honor her legacy by taking students to Poland in 2022. Using a recorded interview with Libitzky and an actor to portray her, he documented the students' raw, unscripted reactions as they walked through concentration camps and learned her story.

The students weren't told to perform for the cameras. Felder wanted authenticity, and that's exactly what emerged.

One gay student broke down when he saw the pink triangles sewn on shirts identifying gay men in concentration camps. A Black student realized he wouldn't have survived either. Students who were transgender, autistic, or from other marginalized groups each saw themselves in the victims' stories.

"So many young people said they saw themselves in something they never could have seen themselves in," Felder said. The film transformed from one woman's Holocaust story into a universal message about hatred's indiscriminate cruelty.

The Ripple Effect

The documentary premiered in 2023, but its message has grown more urgent with time. Felder notes that the political climate has shifted dramatically even since filming, making the students' insights more relevant than ever.

Yet the film isn't just about darkness. It's about hope found in the next generation.

"Being with these kids, it gives me hope that things are going to be OK," Felder said. "They're so wonderful, so kind, so astute." The students demonstrated a generosity of spirit and depth of understanding that moved the veteran director.

The screening includes a post-film Q&A with Felder and the film's stars, giving audiences a chance to engage with the young people whose vulnerability made the project so powerful. Their willingness to be honest on camera created something extraordinary.

Eva Libitzky spent her final years ensuring young people understood the power of hatred, and through Felder's film, her mission continues reaching new audiences with each screening.