Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink October 23, 2017

The co-director of a new Netflix documentary about ultra-Orthodox Jews who leave their communities has apologized for making inaccurate comments about the Holocaust.

Academy Award-nominated documentarian Heidi Ewing said in a Thursday interview on PBS that “The vast majority of Hasidic Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust, partly because they refused to blend in. They kept wearing the clothing. They sort of were loud and proud about their identity, and the vast majority died in the Holocaust.”

This is not true. All Jews were targeted in the Holocaust regardless of their level of religiosity or visibility.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Ewing released an apology statement on Sunday. “The devastating losses that the Jewish community suffered at the hands of the Nazis is unspeakable,” she wrote, adding, “In the midst of this sweeping genocide, Hasidic Jews suffered disproportionate losses during the Holocaust partially because they were more easily identified and therefore had more difficulty hiding. This has been documented by multiple historians. It took great courage for Hasidic Jews at that time to refuse to change their appearance to look more like the general European public. I am only filled with respect and admiration for any person who chooses to live their own truth.”

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount