In 1993, through “Schindler’s List,” Steven Spielberg revealed to the world — and particularly to Hollywood — that making movies about the Holocaust was a recipe for commercial and critical success.
Since then, we’ve seen a rise in the number of Holocaust films, including many that became, like “Schindler’s List,” strong award season contenders (two of which, “The Pianist” and “The Brutalist,” famously earned Jewish actor Adrien Brody two Best Actor Academy Awards, two decades apart).
While a Meryl Streep-starring miniseries “Holocaust” predates even Schindler’s List, it didn’t lead to quite the prolific amount of TV (though it did famously change the way Germany grappled with its aftermath) — that is, until these last few years. As TV has become as serious and star-studded as films, we’ve gotten more and more shows about the intrepid tales of survivors and fascinating stories about Nazis.
We’ve also seen a number of Holocaust movies that take on a different approach to telling stories about Jewish trauma and survival, with survivors’ descendants grappling with loss and memory, like “A Real Pain,” and TV shows about survivors themselves grappling with its aftermath.
Here are 12 recent TV shows and movies that tackle Holocaust stories that you can stream right now:
Movies:
“When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit”
This film, based on a book by Judith Kerr, tells the survival story of the Kerr family through the eyes of 9-year-old Anna. We have previously deemed it the best first Holocaust movie to show your kids.
“Eleanor the Great”
This movie, directed by Scarlett Johansson, stars June Squibb as Eleanor, who takes on the Holocaust survival story of her late roommate as a way to handle her grief. Eleanor’s deception is at times hard to swallow, making this a complex and unique film.
“Nuremberg”
This 2025 film about the Nuremberg trials of infamous Nazis, focusing on the psychiatrist who helped evaluate those put on trial, features an all-star cast.
“The Survivor”
This Barry Levinson film stars Ben Foster as Harry Haft, who survived Auschwitz by boxing his fellow inmates.
“My Best Friend Anne Frank”
This touching Dutch film follows the friendship of Anne Frank and Hanneli Gosselar, who, unlike her famous friend, survived the Holocaust and made it to Israel with her family.
Documentaries:
“UnBroken”
This documentary tells the story of seven siblings who survived the Holocaust together, only to be separated when they got to America.
“Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis”
There are so many little-known stories about the Holocaust and the Nazis; this short documentary tells us one about an internment camp in which Nazis were imprisoned on U.S. soil, to be interrogated by Jewish American soldiers.
“Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial”
A fascinating documentary about the Nazis’ and Adolf Hitler’s rise and fall from power.
TV Dramas:
“We Were the Lucky Ones”
This deeply Jewish, heart-wrenching series, based on a book by Georgia Hunter, tells the story of the Kurc family, who all survived the Holocaust in different ways. It stars Logan Lerman, Joey King, Michael Aloni, Hadas Yaron and many other exciting Jewish stars.
“Transatlantic”
This show from the Jewish creator of “Unorthodox” tells the story of Varian Fry and the American Emergency Rescue Committee, which helped rescue European artists and intellectuals, many of whom were Jewish, from the Nazis.
“A Small Light”
This series stars Bel Powley as Miep Gies, Otto Frank’s secretary who, along with several other of his employees, helped hide the Frank family in that famous attic complex.
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz”
Based on the somewhat controversial book by Heather Morris, this dramatic and often hard-to-watch show follows the love story between Lali Sokolov (Jonah Hauer-King, Harvey Keitel in later years) and Gita (Anna Próchniak), who Lali met while working as a tattooist at the notorious concentration camp.
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