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How Scarlett Johansson’s Holocaust Family History Inspired Her Latest Film

JL;DR SUMMARY Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, "Eleanor the Great," draws parallels to her own newly-discovered family history, despite its storyline focusing on fictional characters. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustFilmJewish HeritageSurvivor StoriesUsc Shoah FoundationFinding Your RootsFamily HistoryPreservationScarlett JohanssonEleanor The Great

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"The movie tells the story of Eleanor, played by June Squibb, who moves to New York in her 90s to live with her daughter (Jessica Hecht)."
Florida, United States
"The transition happens after her longtime Florida roommate and friend, Bessie, played by Israeli film and Yiddish theater star Rita Zohar, passes away."
New Jersey, United States
"were surprised to discover that they were related to the A-lister when the show aired. We were overwhelmed that we had any relatives at all, Michal Rozenfeld, the granddaughter of Moishes daughter Sara, told JTA back then."
Grojec, Mazovia, Poland
"Schlamberg, who was born in Grojec, Poland and left his entire family behind, settled on the Lower East Sides Ludlow Street, where its believed he sold bananas at the market."
Warsaw, Mazovia, Poland
"Gates then brought out records from Yad Vashem, through which Johansson discovered that Sauls brother, Moishe, and two of his children perished in the Warsaw Ghetto."
Israel
"and some of Johanssons cousins, living in Israel and New Jersey, were surprised to discover that they were related to the A-lister when the show aired."

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Retrieved 2025-09-20 05:31:13 UTC
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