The Last Ones of Auschwitz – Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day

Timed to the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation, The Last Ones of Auschwitz features testimonies from survivors. The film held its world premiere at the Miami Jewish Film Festival prior to being released on YouTube.

With fewer survivors living, the 80th anniversary is likely to be among the last times that survivors will gather at Auschwitz. Only 50 were able to make the trip this year, far fewer than ever before. This documentary is not about the ceremony taking place today. It runs just over 70 minutes and gives audiences a chance to listen to survivors of Auschwitz in particular. In the last seven years, filmmakers Sophie Nahum and Leslie Benitah have put their efforts into gathering testimonies for The Last Ones. They’ve documented testimony from over 200 Holocaust survivors with more than 30 testimonies from Auschwitz survivors. For this documentary, they include testimony from 28 survivors. This film premiered in Miami alongside their October 7 documentary, Milk & Honey, Blood & Tears.

Of the 28 survivors, we hear from some more so than others. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how much screentime they have. What matters is that we get an opportunity to hear them share their experiences. One survivor talks of a pregnant Jewish woman who eventually gave birth after entering the camp. While other women protected her, a Nazi guard heard the newborn squeal and then shot the newborn as if he were pigeon-shooting. There are no words to describe one’s reaction to this testimony. What was the Nazis did was conduct a crime against humanity. That the richest man on earth thinks that Germany should just move on and forget the past is just all the more infuriating. It really makes one wonder if he learned from his trip to Auschwitz. I doubt he learned a thing and that the photo op was purely for show.

What we learn from the various survivors are their childhood memories, the point in which they learned they were being arrested, deportation to Auschwitz, life in Auschwitz, liberation, and returning to life. Life after the Holocaust came with its own set of challenges. There were survivors who were completely orphaned with no living family members. Others may have had a parent or sibling survive. Their survival is a testament to their resilience. While The Last Ones of Auschwitz might run on the shorter side of feature-length documentaries, there’s still plenty to learn and take away from the film.

The Claims Conference released an unprecedented demographic survey last January. The numbers have likely changed in the last year but there were 245,000 Jewish survivors living in 90 countries as of August 2023. Their median age is 86 years old, with ages ranging from 77 to over 100–the oldest living survivor, Rose Girone, was born in 1912. In breaking it down further:

  • Israel – 48.7%
  • Western Europe – 17.5%
  • North America – 18.1%
  • Former Soviet Union – 11.8%
  • Eastern Europe – 2.5%
  • Oceana – 1.1%
  • South America and Caribbean – 0.3%
  • Other: 0.2%

DIRECTORS: Sophie Nahum & Leslie Benitah
SCREENWRITER: Sophie Nahum
FEATURING: Jacques Altman, Saul Blau, Henri Borlant, Frania Eisenbach, Flora Eskenazi, Hedy Fladel, Lucette Gejzenblozen, Georges Gossin, Noah Klieger, Ginette Kolinka, Ginette Krausz, Yvette Levy, Leon Lewkowicz, Rabbi Nissen Mangel, Sarah Montard, Paul Nowinsky, Charles Palant, Nicolas Roth, David Schaecter, Leon Schagrin, Fella Scher, Esther Senot, Judith Sherman, Jeanette Spiegel, Albert Veissid, Robert Wajcman, Julia Wallach, Irene Zisblatt

The Last Ones of Auschwitz held its world premiere during the 2025 Miami Jewish Film Festival. It is currently streaming on YouTube. Grade: 4/5

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Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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