When Beth Lane was six years old, her mother let slip a family mystery: she had six siblings, all adopted. That cryptic admission set Lane on a decades-long journey to uncover the truth — a journey that culminated in UnBroken, a powerful documentary about how her mother and six siblings, all Jewish children in Nazi Germany, survived the Holocaust with the help of a courageous German farmer and his wife. Hidden in a cramped laundry hut for nearly two years, the Weber children, ages six to eighteen, endured lice, starvation, cold, and constant fear. Their story, once nearly lost to time, now shines as a beacon of resilience and compassion.

In this episode, Lane, an actor, writer, and first-time director based in Ojai, shares the extraordinary path from family secret to cinematic revelation. After reconnecting with the German farmer’s grandson on a research trip, Lane was galvanized to make the film. Drawing inspiration from Shoah and animated Holocaust shorts, she wove archival material, survivor interviews, and gentle visual storytelling into a deeply human narrative. UnBroken premiered at the Heartland Film Festival in 2023, won the Best Documentary Feature Premiere award, and went on to screen internationally before its 2025 Netflix release, where it quickly became a top-five hit.

But more than just a personal project, UnBroken is a call to empathy in an age of division. All profits from the film support the Weber Family Arts Foundation, which Lane founded to combat antisemitism through education and storytelling. As she tells it, the film asks a single, haunting question of viewers: “Would you hide me?” Tune in for this moving conversation about memory, legacy, and the quiet courage that can change the course of history.

Check out the Weber Family Foundation at https://www.theweberfamilyartsfoundation.com/mission