It feels like an important time for the re-release of The Last Days, an Oscar®-winning documentary about Hungarian Holocaust survivors. Steven Spielberg produced the project under the USC Shoah Foundation, which he founded in 1994. The Last Days was directed by James Moll, who helped start the foundation after the success of Schindler’s List, when Spielberg heard an outpouring from survivors and realized how important it was to document their stories.

According to Moll, the famous director encouraged him to take on a documentary focused on the mass and hasty exodus of Hungarian Jews, who were expelled from their homes and sometimes from their country at the tail end of World War II. The stories are harrowing and personal, but they are also uplifting and the storytellers themselves bring much light to a subject that may not be getting enough historical — or news — coverage, as we see a new rise in anti-Semitism post-Trump, as misinformation spreads throughout the world in general. 

It was the Shoah Foundation that brought most of the survivors together for the documentary.

“With the Shoah, a lot of Hungarian testimonies showed that at the end of the war, the Nazis were using resources more for extermination rather than for the war effort. Even though they were losing the war, they kept the Holocaust effort going and we thought, 'let’s explore this,'" Moll said.

"But the documentary doesn’t just focus on that. It’s a way more personal account of what these five people went through personally."

It’s now been 22 years since the original film was released, but the chilling and equally inspiring personal accounts have just as much weight. When asked what sticks with Moll the most after this time, he answered: “I will never forget the feeling I had sitting in the room with Dr. Hans Münch, a Nazi doctor who had been the medical doctor at Auschwitz that conducted medical experiments on prisoners. He had not really granted interviews until then, but he was still alive and agreed he would interview with us. One of the survivors realized his name was on the medical card of her sister, who had died at Auschwitz, and she said, 'If you are going to interview that man, I’m going with you.' It is really a profound moment.”

There is a shocking element to the film, explicitly stating that the Nazis would have rather put time, energy and money into extermination than winning the war in the end. It also felt shocking in that this doesn’t feel top of mind when thinking of high school history class. Moll mused on the idea.

"There are many events that don’t make the headlines in our news," he said.

"It’s interesting what we decide as a people to focus on at any given moment and how we prioritize news, information, and world events in general. I find it interesting. I don’t have a solution, but it’s up to us as filmmakers to find these stories and tell them."

Moll also got a chance to revisit his experience working with the man behind the mission, Spielberg himself.

"I had been working with him for a few years before making the film; creating, launching, and running the Shoah Foundation. I ran the organization for a few years and in that time, we conducted 50,000 interviews of unedited testimony. During this period, Steven took a break from directing films and focused all energy on the Shoah Foundation and worked very closely with us," Moll said.

"Because I am not Jewish and don’t have the direct connection to the Holocaust, there was a lot of discussion if I should direct the film. And Spielberg said, 'James is gonna direct it.' It was his decision. After working with the foundation, the survivors were like my family, and I had a strong passion for telling their stories. Maybe he saw that. He watched a lot of cuts and gave me feedback and that was fantastic. He knows a thing or two about filmmaking, and it always comes from a place of passion, and asking, 'What is the bigger purpose here?' It taught me how to stay very focused on the goal of the story, and learn to get out of the way and let the story play organically.”

It serves Moll’s story well, and specific details — not wanting to part with a swimsuit gifted from a father, or diamonds meant to help feed a daughter remained sewed into her skirt until she swallowed them to keep them in her possession forever, or celebrating Shabbat in the latrine — will strike a viewer and likely stick with them for years to come. Some survivors are still working hard in 2021 to make sure their voices are heard beyond the film. Both now in their 90s, Renée Firestone meets with victims of other genocides and still publicly speaks on the Holocaust when she has the chance. Irene Zisblatt still goes on the March of the Living every year. Not to mention at the last reunion of the subjects of the film, Zisblatt made sure the group took a break from heavy conversations to watch Sex and the City, one of her favorite shows. 

The film, which is now available on Netflix, has been intricately remastered, restoring the original 35mm negative to 4K for an entirely new audience.

“I’m just excited for people to see the film,” Moll said.

“It got a lot of attention when it was first released, but the reach of Netflix will give it an audience that is far beyond what it had when originally released.”

Moll also hopes some of the new audience will include younger generations.

"When we first made the film people would ask blatantly, 'Why are you making a film about the Holocaust?' There are so many, but if you were to speak to younger people today, I think they would readily admit they don’t know a lot about the Holocaust, and that’s not a point of shame. I do not think this is a cynical generation, but rather I think they have a willingness and interest in learning, and that’s very encouraging," he said.

"Irene said in a recent interview, ‘I’m glad people are seeing it because if they don’t hear my story, who will teach them? How will they know?' With eyewitness accounts it’s just a tremendous learning process. Of course you can read about it in a history book, but in a documentary you can look into their eyes, and you can strongly connect with the person."

It’s almost impossible not to connect with the five accounts featured in The Last Days, particularly when the survivors revisit incredibly emotional locations where they hid from the Nazis or lived in concentration camps accompanied by their children. The memories feel so fresh; a reminder that their survival and the rich lives they were able to build for themselves are remarkable to witness.