Holocaust Survivor Israel “Izzy” Arbeiter
Director, producer, post-production & interviewer
For Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), I interviewed Holocaust survivor Izzy Arbeiter.
Izzy Arbeiter (z”l) was only 14 when he was imprisoned by the Nazis. Originally from Płock, Poland, Izzy survived six concentration camps before being liberated on his 20th birthday in 1945.
The morning I spent with him and his wife Anna on their porch will forever been one of the most important moments of my life. The worst thing to Izzy was if people forgot. As a Jew, it’s my job to make sure people don’t. As someone who interviewed Izzy on video and as a podcast, I have the capacity to make sure his story lives on and is never forgotten.
Over 345,000 people have watched our video so far (across YouTube and Facebook), a number that keeps growing and that both met and surpassed the promised number I gave him (at least 100,000) when we met. It was important to him to reach as many people as possible.
Izzy discusses how he became a slave to the Nazis at the age of 14, and how after being liberated he—with the help of a U.S. military officer—tried to find his family and the woman who saved his life. We hope Izzy’s story of survival, loss, love, resiliency and strength moves you the way it moved us.
Hear his story. Teach people what you learned.
The Izzy Arbeiter Story
Complete with archival film footage and photographs chronicling the rise of Nazi Germany and the horrors millions of people endured, this evergreen video continuous to see engagement across channels.
We also released four clips to promote the video.
The Vibe of the Tribe
Listen to Izzy’s story, plus a podcast-exclusive Q&A. The link to listen was included in all videos.
Podcast cohost: Dan Seligson
Podcast and video editing and post-production by Tyler M. Andrews
Podcast music by Ryan J. Sullivan
Video music performed by Josh Friedman
Photo (from left): Ashley Jacobs, Izzy Arbeiter and Dan Seligson
