A 13-Year-Old's Diary Recounting The Holocaust Is Going Viral On Instagram Almost 75 Years Later
Project reimagines holocaust stories for a new generation.
As fewer holocaust survivors remain to tell their stories, one project is working to preserve the lessons of one of history's darkest times for the next generation.
The diary of young Eva Heyman spans only 108 days, but it chronicles the poignant story of her life and death under the Nazi regime.
Today the creators of a new viral Instagram series are hoping Eva's story can pass the lessons of the holocaust to the next generation.
Created by a father and daughter team the narrative project based on Eva's diary begins with the question "What if a girl in the holocaust had Instagram?"
13-year-old Eva Heyman started her diary in February 1944 while she was living with her mother and grandparents in Hungary.
When Eva's story begins she is a typical teenage girl. She has a best friend, enjoys music and dancing, and dreams of one day being a famous reporter living in Budapest. One month later though the Nazis invaded Eva's hometown.
Soon after the Nazi invasion Eva and her family are packed into the ghetto before they are sent to die in Auschwitz.
It's a poignant story that Mati Kochavi, an Israeli tech executive, and his daughter Maya felt deserved to be told.
"The memory of the Holocaust outside of Israel is disappearing," Mati said in an interview with The New York Times. "We thought, let's do something really disruptive. We found the journal and said, 'Let's assume that instead of pen and paper Eva had a smartphone and documented what was happening to her.' So we brought a smartphone to 1944."
Over the course of 70 Instagram stories the young British actress playing Eva and others reenact Eva's story for the series which was shot entirely on an iPhone.
The project is already receiving massive attention. Even before the series was launched on Wednesday the Instagram account for the heavily advertised project already had 200,000 followers. Now with 1.4 million followers and millions more viewers Eva's story is finally being heard.
The response to the series has been mostly positive and many were moved by Eva's story.
@SarahKSilverman @eva Beautifully made, and very moving. I thought the concept had a good chance of being just aw… https://t.co/d3ReLmXLhq— Andy Levy-Stevenson (@Andy Levy-Stevenson) 1556786043
@haaretzcom It's AMAZING. The scene where she refuses to wear the yellow patch left me trembling.— Aminadav Stein 🇮🇱 עמינדב שטיין (@Aminadav Stein 🇮🇱 עמינדב שטיין) 1556782608
@spiral_of This is remarkable. @atljewishfilm should definitely be sharing this. #YomHaShoah #evastories #Holocaust— dovwilker 🟣 (@dovwilker 🟣) 1556829832
@spiral_of @mattstewartca What an amazing project!— Vicki McLeod 🇺🇦 (she/her) (@Vicki McLeod 🇺🇦 (she/her)) 1556862366
@SarahKSilverman @eva So hard to watch because it’s true— nona horn (@nona horn) 1556768031
@spiral_of Very powerful and purposeful.— Kevin MacKenzie (@Kevin MacKenzie) 1556832641
The project however is receiving its share of criticism from those who feel the using Instagram cheapens the history of the holocaust.
"The path from 'Eva's Story' to selfie-taking at the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau is short and steep," warns Yuval Mendelson, a musician and civics teacher wrote in an op-ed published in the Israel based newspaper Haaretz.
Maya Kochavi however disagrees. "Social media, especially Instagram, is shallow, especially if you're looking for content that is shallow." And if you're looking for content that is powerful and has magnitude and can cause revolutions even, you will easily find it there."
And many agree, applauding the modern retelling of Eva's story as a powerful reminder of lesson we can never forget.
@spiral_of We must never forget.— Lyla Joy Rose (@Lyla Joy Rose) 1556727154
@SarahKSilverman @eva I don't want to like this (because it is painful), but it is an eye-opener that everyone should see— 🇵🇷🌹Brandon Lopez ☭ (AKA Humper-Doo) 🇮🇹 🇮🇪 (@🇵🇷🌹Brandon Lopez ☭ (AKA Humper-Doo) 🇮🇹 🇮🇪) 1556771316
@SarahKSilverman @eva An absolute brilliant use of IG, but incredibly painful to watch.— Michael Skolnik (@Michael Skolnik) 1556767614
'Death Metal Grandma' Is A 96-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor
96-year-old Holocaust survivor Inge Ginsberg has always been musically inclined.
She co-wrote hit songs such as Dean Martin's "Try Again" after coming to America with her first husband, Otto, and has used lyrics and poetry to express herself and cope with life.
Inge has recently found a new way to use this musical expression: as the front woman for a death metal band.
Inge says of herself:
"I've never been a singer, I've always been a writer."
But when she was 93, her now-bandmates pointed out her poems sounded like lyrics to death metal music.
Ginsberg could shout her lyrics to musical accompaniment instead of singing, and still share her message with the world.
Watch Inge with her band here:
93yo Metal Grandma Holocaust Survivor Spy! "Totenköpfchen" (Laugh at Death) -Swiss Eurovision 2015www.youtube.com
On her way to becoming a member of a death metal band, Ginsberg led a varied and sometimes tragic life. She was born as a member of a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna. Inge's family was torn apart when Germany annexed Austria in 1938, with her father being taken to the Dachau concentration camp.
She fled with her mother and brother to Switzerland in 1942.
In 1944, Ginsberg became the housekeeper for a villa owned by the US Secret Service and began spying on the German soldiers and smuggling weapons for the Resistance in Lugano. Once the war ended, Ginsberg and her first husband Otto moved to America and worked as successful songwriters in Hollywood.
Ginsberg has appeared on the Swiss show Switzerland's Got Talent, where she performed her song "Trümmer" to great delight from the judges.
Heavy Metal-Granny Inge Ginsberg rockt mit der Eigenkomposition Trümmer - #srfdgstwww.youtube.com
In a documentary appearing on TheNew York Times website, called Death Metal Grandma, you can see more of Inge's life story.Death Metal Grandma:
Filmmaker Leah Galant captures the essence of Ginsberg's life, and reminds people to live their lives to the fullest and seek out new experiences.
Twitter is loving Inge, the very idea of being a death metal singer at her age stunning many.
This 97 year old "death metal grandma" and Holocaust survivor turned her poetry into heavy metal songs. How can yo… https://t.co/otEc3e0ErX— Champaign Public Library (@Champaign Public Library) 1547332088
What an incredible life - Jewish princess, to war refugee, to secret service, to writer for Dean Martin, to death m… https://t.co/ZDfN5sPz3R— Laura ✨ (@Laura ✨) 1547720045
A 96 year old holocaust survivor is the lead singer of a death metal band. With that sentence my day is made Death… https://t.co/zGCyCwMnir— 🚲⁵ (@🚲⁵) 1547781161
#music #Inspiration #grandma #deathmetal 😁 https://t.co/6jYbHyvx0e— ☞✵𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓲 ✵...✍️ (@☞✵𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓲 ✵...✍️) 1547700433
How was a 96yo Holocaust survivor going to gain attention in a society where older women are neglected, silenced &… https://t.co/EscWKc47Bf— UniteWomenOrg® (@UniteWomenOrg®) 1532196304
@AuschwitzMuseum @TimesofIsrael What an impressive story about this extraordinary, powerful woman. I am excited to… https://t.co/hZQHCcNK0p— Astrid Grünwald (@Astrid Grünwald) 1546444959
"As she approaches 97, she said she has no regrets, and doesn’t concern herself with what others think of her pursu… https://t.co/pvv9h8nRMg— Anne Frank Center USA (@Anne Frank Center USA) 1546611182
@AuschwitzMuseum @mckee_heathir @TimesofIsrael Awesome! I love her and her band and her message. Rock on, Inge! 🤘— PlutoPalJCJ+DeepStateK9 (@PlutoPalJCJ+DeepStateK9) 1546448286
I just found out a 96 year old Holocaust survivors inge Ginsberg is touring as the lead singer in a death metal band. Wow. And it's good.— FREYA COMIX🏳️⚧️ (@FREYA COMIX🏳️⚧️) 1532528386
Even if death metal isn't your cup of tea, it's hard not to be inspired by Inge Ginsberg.
Her astounding life experiences lend her plenty of inspiration for her lyrics, and they touch on subjects that resonate with many people, much as they might not always like to talk about them.
But that is the formula for the best music: expressing those things our hearts feel but cannot find the words to speak.