The Film
Did you know there were Muslims who helped save Jews in Poland during the Holocaust?
They were Tatar Muslims, who had lived in Poland for centuries. And some of them took heroic steps to save their Jewish neighbors.
For the first time, this documentary, "From Iwje," reveals the story of two families—one Muslim, the other Jewish, both from the tiny town of Iwje.
Our story is told through two American descendants.
Ben is a Jewish American. From Milwaukee. His great aunt survived the Holocaust.
Alyssa is a Muslim American. From Brooklyn. Alyssa is a member of the oldest continually operating Muslim congregation in the United States.
Ben and Alyssa had never met. They had never even heard of each other until our documentary brings them together at Ellis Island. There, across from the Statue of Liberty, Ben and Alyssa find their families' immigration papers, and see how their Jewish and Muslim ancestors shared many of the same American immigration experiences.
Through their family stories, we tell the wider story peaceful coexistence and interfaith friendship in Poland that provides a unique dimension to the story of Muslims and Jews—both as a part of Holocaust history and the history of Islam.
Not only that, but as our documentary crew visits both Poland and Israel, we discover the story of a Jewish boy who was saved during the Holocaust in Poland because he was able to survive as a Tatar Muslim.
The Talmud says, “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” The Quran says something similar: "If anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind" (Surah 5:32).
So "From Iwje" is the inspiring story of some brave people who saved the world.
It is a powerful saga that will finally be told, both as history, and, maybe even more importantly, a lesson for the present.
“Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.”
The Talmud
“If anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of mankind.”
The Quran
Meet the Producers
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Jeff Hirsh
SENIOR WRITER
As a broadcast journalist for 40 years in Cincinnati, Jeff won dozens of local, regional, and national awards. As previously noted, “Finding Family” was named Best Documentary in the U.S. It was also shown at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Jeff has produced and reported many long-form stories and documentaries about religious, ethnic, and racial minorities. One year-long series of reports, “Miss Katie’s Class,” followed a young Christian woman through her first year as a kindergarten teacher, at an Islamic day school. “Miss Katie’s Class” won an American Scene Award from the AFTRA broadcasting union, given for programming which highlights diversity.
Jeff has a BA in History from the University of Michigan, an MA in History from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Now retired from broadcasting, Jeff lives in Evanston, IL and works for the online newspaper “Evanston Now.”
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Holly Huffnagle
LEAD RESEARCHER
Holly received her Master’s degree from Georgetown University focusing on 20th century Polish history and Jewish-Muslim relations before, during, and after the Holocaust. She lived and worked in Poland to conduct research on ethnic minority relations before World War II and was selected for the Auschwitz Jewish Center fellowship on pre-war Jewish life and the Holocaust in Poland and northern Slovakia. She has volunteered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim and served as a liaison for the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.
Holly previously served as the policy advisor to the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the U.S. Department of State and as a researcher in the Mandel Center of Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She was also a Scholar-in-Residence at Oxford University with the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.
Today, Holly serves as the U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism at American Jewish Committee (AJC), spearheading the agency’s response to antisemitism in the U.S. and its efforts to better protect the Jewish community. She lives in Washington, DC.
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Christopher Hursh
DIRECTOR & CINEMATOGRAPHER
Chris is an award-winning photojournalist, video editor, and video producer. He has won a national Emmy Award for Best Spot News in the United States, along with three Regional Emmy Awards and many other local, national, and regional honors.
For nearly nine years, Chris has worked as a videographer/editor in the Marketing Department at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he currently manages the video team as Lead Video Creative Strategist. He has produced dozens of videos and helped the hospital’s YouTube channel attract 62 million visitors.
Previously, Chris spent 20 years in the television news industry. In addition to the many awards already noted, Chris has also freelanced for CBS News, NBC News, and other national and international outlets.
A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Chris co-founded a live, daily student-produced newscast which is now in its 27th year. Chris lives in Cincinnati.
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