WHY NOW?

My Underground Mother is one of the only documentaries that addresses Holocaust sexual trauma and agency, and that gives women survivors the platform to tell their stories in their own voices.

The echoes of the past are loud, from the rise of hate and antisemitism, which surged 360% in the months following October 7th, to attacks on women’s rights and bodies, which are reminiscent of Nazis' targeting of Weimar-era reproductive and sexual freedom in Germany. Though Hamas’ mass rape on October 7th has been documented, it is being denied, just like sexual violence perpetrated against Jewish women and girls was discounted after the Holocaust.

History has shown that widespread antisemitism, which thrives on scapegoating others, erodes democracy. Threats against Jews often lead to attacks against other groups, particularly women. Genocide scholars consider misogyny a dangerous and underestimated component of extremism today that results in a rollback of women’s rights and targeted sexual violence, a precursor to racial or ethnic conflict.

The film also explores a little-known, but vast network of forced labor camps, built by German industrialists to fuel the Wehrmacht. In the words of famed Australian survivor Kitia Altman: "What the Holocaust did is it ripped off the mask, opened up the Pandora’s box, and exposed what we can do to human beings when we will explore greed in them.” Concentration and forced labor camps were built by German industrialists through lucrative government contracts from Hitler.

On the 80th anniversary of liberation, it’s time to listen to and learn from our subjects.

donate