Through this immersive film experience, you can get up close and personal with a Holocaust survivor – and experience their story like never before.

Take a stroll with our survivor

Imagine visiting Auschwitz with a Holocaust survivor. Walking the streets of their hometown. Learning about their childhood, Jewish upbringing and hearing an intimate commentary about their experience. Imagine following them to Melbourne. Sitting with them and their extended family around the dinner table, seeing up close how they rebuilt life after the horrors of the Holocaust. 

Through our VR film, ‘Walk with Me’, you can.  

This survivor story contains mature content so the film is not suitable for children under the age of 15. 

About ‘Walk with Me’

In 2017, our MHM team went to Poland and Germany with Holocaust survivor, John (Szaja) Chaskiel.  

Filming with a special 360 degrees camera, we followed him from his hometown of Wielun, in Poland, to Lodz, to Auschwitz, to the Buchenwald Camps – and finally, back home to Melbourne.  

You’ll see Szaja share his testimony at the sites of his incarceration and walk with him through the journey of his past, as though you’re right there beside him.   

Intimate and enthralling, ‘Walk with Me’ is an immersive film experience that allows you to understand the story of our survivors like never before.  

John (Szaja) Chaskiel

Szaja was sent to the Poznan slave labour camp when he was barely 11 years old, and later to Lodz Ghetto. In 1944, he was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later sent on a death march, before reaching the Buchenwald concentration camp.  

After liberation, Szaja emigrated to Australia in 1950 and lived in Melbourne since.  

As a vocal advocate for Holocaust education and remembrance, Szaja began volunteering with the MHM in 2001 – and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2022. 

Read more about John’s story

The Smorgon family

We are grateful to the Jack & Robert Smorgon Foundation, which provided support and made ‘Walk with Me’, possible.  

The Smorgon family left Russia in 1926 to escape Stalin’s ascension to power and antisemitic sentiment at that time. They arrived in Port Melbourne in 1927, settled in Carlton, and began a family butcher shop. This humble beginning soon grew and led to several businesses across industries.  

Known for their tradition of philanthropy, the Smorgon family has contributed generously to various Melbourne institutions over the years.  

The Jack and Robert Smorgon families are the descendants of Anne and Eric Smorgon, and their Foundation has supported many community charities, including the MHM.