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Montana Tucker, 29, is a singer, actress, songwriter and social media creator with over 11.5 million social media followers. He is a native of Boca Raton, Florida and has been in the entertainment industry since the age of eight. She has worked with household names such as Terry Crews, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, and Anitta.
He is best known for his fun and entertaining dance videos and other media work. In the past, he read Jewish stories, including his ancestors’ experiences in the Holocaust.
By simply mentioning the stories of his ancestors, which fueled the negative and even denial of the Holocaust, he realized that most people know very little about the Holocaust, because they no longer need to teach new subjects.
Montana didn’t want to talk about the Holocaust; He wants millions of his followers to join him on a journey to Auschwitz and share it in real time.
Shortly after receiving a bad news story about the Holocaust, Montana met Israel Schachter, a store builder and CEO of Charity Bids. When he told his story, he asked him if he had been to Poland.
When she answered no, he said, “Well, I will.”
The original plan was for Montana to go to Poland with her mother. Then, a moment of inspiration struck: Montana didn’t want to talk about the Holocaust; He wanted his students to join him on a trip to Auschwitz and share it in real time. They decided to use his platform to create an educational series about the Holocaust, which runs on TikTok and Instagram.
“I was excited about the idea because it had never been done before. Also, people are used to seeing these fun dance videos of me, so they don’t mind at all.
“The younger generation does not know about the Holocaust. If I can teach them in a relevant way, then it will be amazing.
In Auschwitz
The trip took about a week, and it was very intense for Montana to film.
“I not at all did reality TV. Everything I did before was planned and scripted. Movies are scripts, dance videos are performances. Even social media was planned. But you can’t plan for how you will go on this trip. There is no text. We just knew the way to go.”
At first, Montana was worried about having cameras on him 24-7. “I thought, oh man, there should be a camera on me the first time I had this. They were filming all day. Every conversation, every moment was recorded. At first it was weird, but after sometimes, I forget it’s even there.”
Montana said the most powerful moment of the trip was standing, hand in hand with her mother, at the exact spot where her grandmother saw her own mother for the last time.
“My grandmother survived Auschwitz. We stopped at the exact place where the Jews loaded the cargo from the wagon to the camp.
Montana and his Grandmother
These words saved her grandmother’s life: “Lilly if you leave me you have to promise me that you will stay close to your sister.”
Her maternal grandmother, Grandma Lilly, was only thirteen years old when she and her family were taken by wagon to Auschwitz. As a child, Lilly was very close to her mother, often clinging to her by holding her hand. While being transported in an empty wagon, Lilly held onto her mother. No one knew where to go or what to do. Her mother heard something and whispered in Lilly’s ear, “Lilly if you leave me you have to promise me that you will stay close to your sister.”
Lilly’s mother is holding one of the neighbor’s twins and holding Lilly’s hand with her free hand. When they got off the train, Mengele, who decided who would live and who would die at a glance, took Lilly’s hand from her mother and pushed her into the line of weak children. Lilly’s mother was placed in line with the elderly and women with young children. No one knew that Lilly’s mother’s line was the line that would be sent to the gas chambers. Not wanting to leave her mother, Lilly quickly ran to the line where her mother was.
Mengele saw her turn quickly and shouted, “There you are! Did you dare to disobey me? Now I’m going to show you what will happen if you don’t listen to me!”
He ordered two Nazi soldiers to hit Lilly’s mother with their guns, beating her while laughing and cheering. Then they dragged his bloody body to the gas chambers.
Lilly was pushed to the line Mengele had originally ordered her to. Lilly wanted to honor her mother’s last wish that she be close to her sister if she and her mother were to be separated, so she died, recrossed the lines, and entered the scene at the side of his brother.
That moment saved his life, as the line Mengele ordered Lilly to was the next line to enter the gas chambers. She and her sister survived, but the last thing her mother saw was her bleeding, crying and screaming. He still lived with the guilt of doing it at the time.
Facing evil
“Growing up, hearing these stories is one thing,” Montana said, “but nothing can prepare you for when you’re going to be there. I’m very vulnerable, but the staff are very passionate and caring. When I saw their passion for this project I thought, well, I’m vulnerable because we’re all here for the same purpose.
Montana was surprised by his strong reaction to living in Auschwitz and Poland.
“Poland is a beautiful country. I found this all heartbreaking bad grew up in a beautiful country. People are living the same way, right next to them are the gas chambers. There are hostels right outside the campuses. How can anyone live like that?”
He explained, “It’s more powerful than I thought. I think it’s because it’s a story from my grandparents, but it’s also different than being with a group of friends on a trip. On school trips on calling you, taking pictures, talking to your friends…not fully immersed. I need to be fully immersed. You keep the information in a different way.
“Experience on my own in some ways makes it more difficult. I don’t have anyone to work with. I have to focus on myself.
Montana was also surprised that the filmmakers were moved by the experience. Although not all of the people were Jewish, they were so moved that they had to take a break to control their emotions.
The Right Time and Place
It ended up recording over a hundred hours of footage. The producers, including Rachel Kastner and SoulShop Studios, had to cut and refine it to the shortest possible parts. “The focus is on all it’s going down. With so much content on TikTok, no one wants to watch long articles. This is a way that children will always learn.
“The goal was to release these videos before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, which we did, but with everything going on with Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, this is more important than ever. “
“Nothing happens by chance,” Israel Schachter said. “I met Montana at the right time. The idea came at the right time. I met Rachel Kastner and the guys behind SoulShop at the right time. We released the series at the right time. right. God led. But one thing God didn’t do was Montana courage, honesty and integrity. All of him. He did that. And he used his platform to do it. It’s a very brave thing that I hope others learn from. It’s a huge responsibility to have that kind of foundation and reach out, and he’s going to show the world how to do it. I’m very proud to call him friend.”
Montana said 90% of the public’s response was overwhelming. His videos have over four million views and counting. “If you compare it to the fact that there are only one million visits to the Holocaust Museum a year, that’s a crazy number. We hope to reach six million views by the end of the series. That’s a amazing to kill, for obvious reasons.”
Many celebrities, including Mark Cuban, Jessica Seinfeld, Maria Shriver and Scooter Braun have shared his videos, helping them reach their audience.
Jew-hatred today
But there are 10% who are focused on hate.
“This is what needed to happen then, and this is what needs to happen now. I wrote a message on Kyrie’s page, telling him that his words are powerful, that he should watch the series. Some of the comments I received were the worst, worst comments… I’ve never seen people talk like this on social media. All Holocaust denial and hatred of Jews. I have lost students, but I have gained some wonderful ones.
Montana was surprised by the anti-Semitism spread by celebrities, including Kanye West and Kyrie Irving.
“I never knew there was a divide between Blacks and Jews… The way I grew up, and my friends, I always thought we were one. That makes us good because of our history. I don’t think anything can be taken away from slavery. This needs to be said, it needs to be said. Two special things, two terrible things, we must bond. We are two a minority group. We need to be together.”
Montana wants to share a message with everyone: “Talk about everything bad. Don’t be afraid of losing your job or your friends. Speak up and get your story out there without fear. attack. Everyone has the right to an opinion. If you don’t attack, you will be seen and heard.”
Montana hopes his series will help change many people’s views on the history of the Holocaust, and do his part to help dispel misconceptions and denials. His goal is to work to eliminate hatred in any form, and to unite everyone in the common goal of love and acceptance of the whole world.
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