NEW RELEASE! The Cure for Hate: Bearing Witness to Auschwitz
“I can’t stress this enough – this film is something special and is not something you have ever experienced before.”
— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
With hate crimes and hate-group activity in ascendancy, and an alarming vitriolic shift in public discourse around issues of race and nationalism, we’re thrilled to announce the release of award-winning filmmaker Peter Hutchison’s deeply affecting and ultimately hopeful new documentary The Cure for Hate: Bearing Witness to Auschwitz.
The Cure for Hate documents the profoundly personal journey of atonement taken by Tony McAleer, a one-time skinhead and Holocaust denier, as he travels to the former Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and explores the conditions that allowed for the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe. McAleer, who went on to co-found the anti-hate activist group Life After Hate after shedding his violent past, shines unique light on how men get into, and out of, violent extremist groups, and underscores the dangers of allowing hate to be left unchecked.
In the end, while Auschwitz-Birkenau serves as a haunting monument to how hate can breed monstrous and inhumane acts of cruelty and violence, Tony McAleer’s personal story – a story he’s brought to synagogues, classrooms, community town hall gatherings, law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. Congress – reminds us that transformation and healing are always possible. If a hardened neo-Nazi can find his way back from hate, then what lessons can a journey like his hold for the rest of us?
“This film is so powerful… [Tony McAleer’s] journey to bear witness, interspersed with his personal story, is incredible.”
— June Morris, Board of Directors, National Council for Social Studies
“I can’t stress this enough, this film is something special and is not something you have ever experienced before. This film will move you…one of the best I’ve seen in 2023.”
— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
“A beautifully shot, well-directed film that… holds a substantial level of importance, not only about our past but our future. 4 1/2 Stars. ”
— Chris Jones, Overly Honest Movie Reviews
“It’s documentaries like this one that must keep the memory of the horrors of genocide over ideology alive today, or dare we repeat the past.”
— Alan Ng, Film Threat
“A riveting and deeply important film.”
— Kathryn Spitz Cohan, Film Pittsburgh
“In today’s environment, with increasing division and othering, programs like [this] are more essential than ever. […] The program’s focus on addressing the roots of hatred and violence speaks directly to the needs of our community and, we believe, many others across the nation.”
— Jess Westhoff, Education Programs Manager, Wassmuth Center for Human Rights
“The Cure for Hate provides avenues to process in a clear, apolitical and meaningful way. Against the backdrop of today’s current events, that is not easy to do. Though it’s been several months, the impact of The Cure for Hate lingers in Brattleboro, VT. I am still hearing from teachers and students how grateful they were for the experience.”
— Susan Healy, Administrative Director, Windham World Affairs Council
“The timely message that The Cure For Hate promotes needs to be heard by everyone. Why? Because those who want to make a positive impact in their community will feel supported and motivated to continue their good work, and those who are going down the path of hatred and bigotry will be challenged to confront their own views.”
— Rabbi Beth Jacowitz Chottiner, Temple Shalom, Louisville, KY
