Ericsson has been an artist mentor and producer with The Righteous Conversations Project for seven years, a collaboration bringing together teens and the last remaining generation of holocaust survivors to connect and create social action.
Through the Digital Storytelling Workshop at Harvard Westlake’s summer program, we have created many animated films documenting the experiences of children during the holocaust.
A Prayer for My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story
A child facing brutality and profound loss finds sustenance in faith and her own dreams for the future.
Hold the Sun in Your Hands: The Erika Jacoby Story
Hand-drawn animation illustrates Holocaust Survivor Erika Jacoby's memories of surviving Auschwitz.
Art of Life: The Story of Eva Nathanson
Developed with Studio 70 in Berkley CA, by teens who listened to Eva share about her childhood in hiding.
Dreams of Yisrael: The Story of Yisrael Zilberstein
Yisrael escaped the holocaust and built a life in Israel. This film was animated by teens in LA, including Yisrael’s grand son.
A Ship Called Lili: The Lillian Trilling Story
This film chronicles Lillian Trilling’s experience of escaping the Warsaw Ghetto, surviving a #MeToo experience, working as a nanny in a German castle, and her eventual liberation and journey to America.
One in Thirty: The Story of Henry Oster
Personal testimony and animation bring alive a Holocaust survivor’s story, one of thirty boys under the age of 18 to survive.
Remembering Together: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Teens collaborated to remember the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, where young people whose lives were being taken from them fought against enormous odds.
Stefania and Max
A woman saves 13 Jewish people by hiding them in her attic. They find ways to survive, even when German officers move into the house.
Stitching a Life: The Story of Trudie Strobel
A child survivor of the Holocaust receives a packet of beads in a Displaced Persons camp after the war. Thus begins her life-long journey with thread and needle not knowing that someday this simple act will save her life again.
Seeds of Partnership: The Sardari and Morady Story
Muslim and Jewish teens come together to animate the story of two men, Abdol Hossein Sardari and Ibrahim Morady, a Muslim and a Jew in Paris during the Holocaust. Their friendship and advocacy saved Jewish lives and the generations who would follow them.
To Life: The Ella Mandel Story
This animation was developed over zoom during the pandemic by teens using their phones as cameras and cardboard boxes as animation stands.