Social worker Irena Sendler saw the inhumane conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto and knew she had to help. Crossing the dangerous Nazi barricade daily, Irena brought food, medicine, immigration papers, and a path to freedom to thousands of Jewish residents. When whole families began to disappear, however, Irena went one step further: she hid their children to keep them alive. Using falsified passports and a network of nuns and Polish families, Irena smuggled Jewish children to safety, keeping meticulous records to ultimately reunite them with their parents. Tortured for her efforts, she never gave up a single name, ultimately saving 2,500 children and countless generations to come.

On the front lines of the war against the Nazis in Vilna, Lithuania was an extraordinary young woman named Vitka Kempner. An ardent activist, Vitka stood up to join a group of fellow partisans to not only defend her people, but also to fight back using every tool at their disposal. Committing death-defying acts of sabotage and revenge, Vitka and her comrades saved the lives of hundreds and accelerated the downfall of the German Army.

Audio recording of Vitka Kempner courtesy of the Jewish Partisan Education Foundation.

www.jewishpartisans.org

Friedl Dicker Brandeis was a true Bohemian free spirit. Suffering the loss of her mother at age 4, Friedl turned to art, channeling her trauma into beautiful creations, which led to a successful business and a growing reputation as an artist. When the War arrived, however, Friedl’s greatest contribution was to come. Using her own skills and materials, Friedl crafted a curriculum to teach art to Jewish children at Terezin Camp. Even as war raged outside, her classroom became a haven of beauty. And in a final act of creation, Friedl painstakingly preserved each child’s artwork, which has become a legendary exhibit that travels the world today, preserving the names and legacy of children of the war.   

Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum was many things: a leader, a rebel, a savior. He was also many people, depending on who you asked. As a young rabbi in Nazi-occupied Budapest, Pinchas used his extraordinary powers of charm, mimicry, and determination to impersonate the enemy, lead audacious rescue missions, and save thousands of lives. Along the way, he became a legend. 

What if there was a hero in your own family, and you didn’t even know it? What if that hero was your own father? This is what happened to Chris Edmonds, who discovered the incredible bravery and sacrifice of his late father, Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, an American soldier, born and raised in Knoxville, who put his own life on the line to stand up to the Nazis and save hundreds of his Jewish compatriots during the darkest moments of World War II. This is the story of a father and a son, and of a true American hero.

Young Auschwitz prisoner Anna Heilman, age 16, was far from a threat to the Nazis. But after suffering the loss of both parents and several family members, Anna joins the resistance. Teaming with her elder sister Estusia and a network of young women, Anna hides gunpowder from her job at the Auschwitz munitions factory under her clothing, dangerously smuggling it daily, right past the Nazis. Anna and her team slowly amass enough gunpowder to help the Sonderkommando blow up an Auschwitz crematorium. From shy teenage girl to fearless partisan, Anna Heilman fought back, changing countless lives in the process.  

Chutzpah: Hunters Presents True Stories of Resistance, an official companion podcast to Hunters, is a 6-part podcast series that profiles ordinary people who made the choice to resist, to stand, and to fight for the common humanity of their fellow people, doing what many would consider impossible during one of the darkest, most horrific times in human history.

Hunters on Prime Video is inspired by heroes who, during the Holocaust, fought back using sabotage, disguise, bravery, force, and even art to persevere and save untold others. 

The stories you will hear are true and feature the words and voices of the survivors, their families, and their friends. 

Launching December 13th, 2022.