A new documentary, My Underground Mother, reveals the hidden World War II experiences of journalist Marisa Fox’s mother, uncovering a life full of secrets, survival, and resilience. As a child, Fox was captivated by her mother’s dramatic stories. Her mother claimed she had been sent to Palestine as a teenager, joining a Jewish underground group as a spy and saboteur. But inconsistencies in the timeline left young Fox puzzled. Her mother avoided questions, keeping her true history hidden until her death in 1993. It wasn’t until 2010 that Fox learned from a dementia-affected great-aunt that her mother had a “hidden identity.” That revelation sparked a 15-year investigation, resulting in the documentary, which traces her mother’s actual life during the war in Poland. Fox discovered that her mother, Hela Hocherman, spent the war in Gabersdorf, a forced labor camp, while her birth mother was sent to Auschwitz. She and other teenage girls endured grueling work and isolation, often facing extreme abuse. The film features testimonies from 18 surviving women, sharing firsthand accounts of camp life, including harsh labor, sexual exploitation, and the constant threat of death. The documentary also draws on a journal created by the girls at Gabersdorf, including entries from Fox’s mother. The journal captures their hopes, defiance, and survival instincts amid the horrors of the camp. After her time in Poland, Fox’s mother traveled to Palestine, joining an insurrectionist movement involved in the creation of Israel. While she portrayed herself as a freedom fighter, some could view her actions as controversial, involving sabotage and covert operations. She later emigrated to the U.S., built a family, and concealed her past, even from her own children. Fox explains that her mother’s secrecy was likely driven by layers of shame—surviving the camp, experiencing sexual abuse, and the complexities of her identity. Her mother’s goal was to avoid pity and never appear as a victim. The documentary is more than a personal story. Fox hopes it will support other women who survived wartime trauma, helping them understand that the shame they carry is misplaced. “Shame needs to change sides,” Fox says. “The shame doesn’t belong to the women. It belongs to the men who did this to them.” My Underground Mother tells a powerful story of resilience, survival, and the lengths one woman went to protect her identity while navigating the aftermath of war.