To Live and Survive
2025 Austrian film
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To Live and Survive (German: Leben und Überleben) is a 2025 Austrian documentary film directed by Matthias Jaklitsch. The film portrays Viennese Holocaust survivor Erich Richard Finsches and follows him during travels, commemorative events, and encounters with young people. It focuses both on Finsches' persecution under Nazi Germany and on his life in post-war Vienna.[1]
Matthias Jaklitsch
| To Live and Survive | |
|---|---|
| Leben und Überleben | |
| Directed by | Matthias Jaklitsch |
| Written by | Matthias Jaklitsch |
| Produced by | Johannes Grenzfurthner, Jasmin Hagendorfer, Günther Friesinger, Matthias Jaklitsch |
| Starring | Erich Finsches Matthias Jaklitsch |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | Austria |
| Language | German |
Synopsis
The documentary is devoted to Erich Richard Finsches, a Viennese eyewitness to history and Holocaust survivor. It retraces his youth under Nazi persecution and also examines how, after the war, he built a new life for himself in Vienna as a young man without parents. The film additionally emphasizes his personality, including his humor, argumentative temperament, and enduring commitment to remembrance work and education.[3][1]
Production
To Live and Survive is based on material collected by Jaklitsch over a period of more than six years. The film is explicitly framed not only as a conventional witness documentary, but also as a record of the relationship between the director and his subject.[2]
In 2023, the project received support from the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism as a documentary film in the remembrance category.[1]
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Black Forest Film Festival on 26 November 2025. Its Austrian premiere took place on 4 December 2025 at This Human World in Vienna, where it was screened in the "Austrian Personalities" section.[2][4] The film was screened at the Jewish Film Festival Vienna in April 2026 in the presence of Erich Finsches.[5]
Additional screenings were announced for 2026, including at the Buenos Aires International Film Festival.[2]
Reception
In a review for Film Threat, the film was described as an affecting portrait of Erich Finsches' Holocaust experience, and it received a score of 9.5 out of 10.[6] Richard Propes of The Independent Critic particularly highlighted the intimate relationship between the filmmaker and his subject, awarding the film 3.5 out of 4 stars.[7] Writing for Midwest Film Journal, Evan Dossey emphasized the contemporary political relevance of Finsches' warnings against far-right extremism and antisemitism.[8]
