Tom Segev

Brooklyn-born Ruth Gruber became the youngest PhD in the world before going on to become an international foreign correspondent and photojournalist at age 24. She defied tradition in an extraordinary career that spanned several decades. The first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935, Ruth also traveled to Alaska as a member of the Roosevelt administration in 1942, escorted Holocaust refugees to America in 1944, covered the Nuremberg trials in 1946, and documented the Haganah ship 'Exodus' in 1947. Her relationships with world leaders gave her unique access and insight. This documentary interweaves verite scenes with archival footage.

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.”