Edith Bruck: The Woman and the Shoah

“Edith Bruck. The Woman and the Shoah” is an intimate and touching documentary of inestimable historical value, directly narrated by writer and poetess Edith Bruck, who is one of the last survivors of the Holocaust. Her books have been successfully published in Italy, France, Hungary, Croatia, UK, Germany, Israel, Poland and Holland. Through her firsthand experience of the violence of Nazism and the lagers, as well as her ongoing struggle against persecution, antisemitism, and racism, Edith’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II. Her voice, as both a writer and a survivor, offers a unique and invaluable perspective on this dark chapter of history.

Set against the backdrop of Rome with archival footage from Hungary, "Edith Bruck. The Woman and the Shoah" delves into the extraordinary life of Edith Bruck, a woman defined by curiosity, love, and remarkable resilience as a Holocaust survivor and gifted writer. Born in 1931 in Tiszabercel, Hungary, Edith's adolescence was abruptly disrupted when at 12, she was forcibly taken by the Nazis to the Satoralijaujhely ghetto. Subsequently, her journey led her to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she, unlike her parents and a sibling, survived the horrors of the Holocaust, dedicating her life to bearing witness to the unspeakable.

Edith's commitment to recounting the harrowing experiences of the Bergen-Belsen Lager prisoners, who implored survivors to share their stories, became her lifelong mission. In the immediate aftermath of liberation, she began collecting memories—initially in Hungary, then in Czechoslovakia and Israel. A daring escape led her to Greece, where she assumed the identity of a ballet dancer. Finally, settling in Italy, Edith spent over 70 years in Naples and Rome, sharing her life with the poet and director Nelo Risi, until his passing in 2015.

This cinematic endeavor is her final act of bearing witness, an enduring testament for future generations. Through her literary works and poetry, Edith continues to combat the persistent forces of antisemitism and racism, approaching this mission with an absence of hatred. She deliberately communicates in Italian, a language chosen for its capacity to foster emotional detachment from her deeply personal narrative.