Scarlett Johansson Uncovers A Lost Family Tragedy | Finding Your Roots | Sponsored by Ancestry®

Watch actress Scarlett Johansson's tearful reaction after digging deep into her Jewish family history with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on Finding Your Roots.

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00:00 Introduction
0:35 Meet Scarlet Johansson’s great-grandfather
1:40 Scarlet Johansson’s ancestors’ WWII experience
2:40 Scarlet Johansson reacts to her Holocaust connection
3:42 Scarlet Johansson’s emotional reaction

[dlmight]

"The fate of one brother versus the other"...it's sobering how one single decision can have generational consequences

[sebastianalexandru]

No wonder she was so passionate about Jojo Rabbit project. Great love and tribute for her ancestry.

[sashsash]

History is repeating itself and we are seeing it live everyday on our screens

[rhiannonduncan]

My grandmother survived the camps. Blessed be all the victims and survivors ❤️❤️❤️

[mistressmozart]

the woman in the footage at 3:02 who is shouting at the policeman and then reacts when he tries to grab her arm is haunting. The justified anger and defiance. I wonder what her fate was

[downhilltwofour]

I am so appreciative of the work Dr. Gates does. How he displays such a respectful and understanding demeanor while his clients go through the sad process of taking it all in speaks to his humanity and dignity. I will always hold him in high esteem!

[luna-yctw]

I cried during the part about her great-grandfather moving alone all alone with nothing I learned that my great-grandpa went through Ellis island from Ireland alone at 19 in 1925, the reason was he wanted to have his 9 younger sibling have a better life and not starve (my great-great grandparents were very poor potato farmers) and I cried because his selflessness possible saved his entire family, and I’m so grateful he together risk because who could of knows what would have happened.

[XieronDraxin]

I used Ancestry to trace one of my family trees for a college project and found out that on my mother's side, my great-great-grandfather was one of the first settlers of Illinois, back when it was still part of France before the Lousiana Purchase. It was....wild to learn that my family had been in the US that long.

[rosemimi]

I am sure Scarlett’s ancestors are proud of what she has achieved..and it all started with the brave move to the US.

[LukasDiSparrowOfficial]

My great-grandparents were killed in Auschwitz and my grandfather and his brother escaped when they were young boys with one other guy. I remember as a kid looking at my grandfather's arm and seeing a weird tattoo with digits on it, I didn't understand what that was as a kid and never asked, my grandfather never spoke about his parents and their documents were burnt. Now, we have no idea who they were and unfortunately, I can't afford this kind of investigation to find out who my family is.

[susanhansen]

I knew a couple who survived the camps, they still had the tatoos. They were the most alive and happy people i have ever met, they seemed to enjoy every day and gave thanks for it.

[watchinvidzwatchinvidz]

I have genocide on both sides of my family tree Jewish & Native American. There are literal branches on my family tree that are missing. When I saw that as a child when my mother was researching it I wept bc they didn't even stand a chance against the evil that was happening. I hope this never happens again.

[kennethgoldsmith]

This is hard to watch. The cruelty of humanity

[TheLovePowerGoddess]

I can't imagine having family in the horrible Holocaust. Such a wicked and terrible kind of madness

[emilyaburd]

This is unfortunately such a common story for Jews. In my own family, through 23and me, I found that my great grandfather ended up on the Russian side...and the rest of the family that stayed in Poland perished except one that ended up in Chigago. It's haunting to read names of people with your mother's maiden last name and caues of death is "perished in Holocaust" (murdered would be the term I'd use more accurately.)

[deborahklinlger]

There is a film called Avalon which resonates with my family.
I cane a from a big Polish family that immigrated from Poland, & 2 of my uncles had Americanized their last name & the rest of that family had disagreed with the 2 brothers
causing a rift in the family, the same had happened in that film.
I remember the shame my paternal grandfather had felt.
He was a proud man it was the name he was born with & the pride he had.
In the leading male character him & his family expressed the sane story line as my immigrant family had.
My point is if you get a chance watch this film, it shows some of the same struggles that families faced at that time .
Its a wonderfully written story/film. I cry everytine I have watched it.
Avalon with Elizabeth Perkins & Aidan Quinn.
It's truly about the Anerican immigration experience.

[sedmidivka]

3:03 This girl standing up to herself, wow. She had no fear I love her so much 😢

[luhole]

3:05 props to that woman’s fiery spirit.

[MC-wcuh]

It's amazing how much our ancestors have endured.. The lineages will all stem from.. Imagine for them to see us where we are now. Fame or no fame, I'm sure we have come so far and are so successful in their eyes

May they rest in peace, and may we continue to make them proud as they watch from the heavens

[miriamgreen]

Hear this all you who watch. This is the story that happened to MANY families. I feel for Scarlett. I admire her strength and resiliency.