Fredy Hirsch was a proud homosexual Jew. He ran a daycare center for 600 kids in Auschwitz. Freddy was admired by his kids and fought to his last breath to maintain their human dignity. His death on the eve of a revolt he led has remained a mystery until this film.
Synopsis
Fredy Hirsch was a proud Jew and openly gay man living in Nazi-occupied Europe during WWII. As a 19-year-old he fled from Germany to Czechoslovakia with the publication of the Nuremberg Laws. He began working as a sports teacher in a Jewish youth club, and soon became his students’ object of admiration. With the deportation of the Jews to Ghetto Terezin (Theresienstadt), Fredy was appointed head of the youth department and nurture more than 4,000 youth. When he arrived in Auschwitz, Fredy did not succumb to despair. He persuaded Mengele to set up a daycare center for children and youth and granted some 600 children their final moments of happiness. It might be that in Auschwitz, for the first time in his life, Fredy Hirsch didn’t experience homophobia. He had a lover, he was out and people respected and loved him for all the good things he did. Together with members of the underground in Auschwitz, he planned a revolt that never came to pass, following his death, which remains a mystery, and which this film attempts to reveal.
The film combines interviews, archival materials and animation.
About the Director
Rubi Gat is an independent filmmaker. Until 2010, Rubi worked as the chief video editor for the BBC in Jerusalem. As an independent filmmaker, his works include:
- “Liga Terezin” (2015), which was presented as a part of the European Union Sport Association’s program for combating violence and racism;
- “Dear Fredy” (2017) – for Israel television’s Channel One (“Kan”), which tells the story of Fredy Hirsch, a Jewish educator who lived as an open homosexual in Nazi Germany and directed a daycare facility for 600 children in Auschwitz; it was presented at more than 50 film festivals worldwide and won three international prizes;
- “Not a Hero” (2020) – for Yes Doc. “Some of the most beautiful moments I have ever viewed in documentary cinema on the subject of disabilities” (Ariana Melamed, HaAretz, December 3rd, 2020).
He also authored the book Rock, Paper, Scissors [Hebrew] (Jerusalem, 2001). A review in Hebrew.
Year
2017
Runtime
1 hour 14 minutes
Director
Rubi Gat
Producer
Shahar Ben-Hur
Music
Ido Goldberg
Editor
Erez Laufer
Sound Design
Ronen Nagel
Trailer
Images
