The Seventh Million (1995)

Overview

The Seventh Million is a thought-provoking documentary series. It is based on a book by Israeli historian Tom Segev. The film, directed by Benny Brunner and written by Segev, examines some of the most sensitive and previously undisclosed chapters of Israeli history. It explores the Zionist leadership’s ambiguous response to the Holocaust as it was occurring and the challenges that the new state of Israel faced in dealing with the trauma of the Holocaust. The film also portrays the often-negative reception of Holocaust survivors in pre-Israel Palestine and in the new state of Israel, where they were frequently ignored or scorned by a society focused on heroism and the creation of a “new man.”