NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – While International Holocaust Day is traditionally observed in January, each year the Jewish community comes together on its own to commemorate the millions who died on the day known as Yom Hashoah.
This year, Yom Hashoah is being observed between the evening of April 27th and April 28th. To mark the occasion, HBO Max has released a film titled "The Survivor."
The film, directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson (“Rain Man”), tells the true story of Harry Haft, a Jewish man sent to Auschwitz and forced to box other Jews for the sole entertainment of Nazi guards.
As the title of the film implies, Haft survived his time as a prisoner. He eventually immigrated to the United States and even made a living as a legit boxer between 1948 and 1949. All his time as a heavyweight, however, could not shake the internal weight of his actions. That’s what drew Levinson to the project.
“I was thinking of it in terms of post traumatic stress disorder,” Levinson said in an exclusive interview with 1010 WINS. “People are affected by some event that is so catastrophic, that they have a difficult time just getting through daily life without being constantly haunted by the past…that was interesting to me.”
He shared that the story was also a bit personal for him, since he had an uncle who also survived a concentration camp and used to wake up screaming about the horrors of the Holocaust.
“He [would yell] in his sleep and tossing and turning and thrashing about…night after night. The same thing would occur over and over and over and over,” he said.
Despite his connection, Levinson emphasized that his main mission for the film was to highlight the impact trauma can have on a human being. “There's so many people that are affected by trauma, and the trauma doesn't go away,” he said.
He cited the ongoing crisis in Ukraine as another instance where trauma is propagating, and implied that it could remain with those experiencing it firsthand forever.
“What is it going to be like for them?” he asked. “How haunted by the past will [they] be? How long will it linger with them? How much will it affect their relationships?”
In the interview, Levinson called trauma “a recurrence in the history of man.” But another recurrence in the history of man is resiliency. As Harry Heft’s story proves, there is no cure for trauma or PTSD - he struggled with his experiences, even towards the end of his life. However, both his story and Levinson’s film teach that there’s a clear difference between giving up and not fighting back.
"The Survivor" is streaming on HBO Max now.