Famous figures whose family members survived the Holocaust

The Holocaust, the genocide of an estimated six million Jewish people between 1933 and 1945, was a tragedy of immense proportions that will never be forgotten. But while countless lives were lost, there are also stories of those who, against all odds, managed to survive. Some happened to be family members of future famous individuals.

Browse through the following gallery and find out which celebrities have family members who survived the Holocaust.

Josh Gad

The actor, better known for voicing Olaf in the 'Frozen' franchise, is the son of an Afghan-born Jew who eventually moved to Israel. Gad's grandfather, Joseph Greenblatt, was a Holocaust survivor.

Christian Dior

The sister of the famous French fashion designer was also a Holocaust survivor. Catherine Dior was a French resistance fighter during World War II.

She was eventually captured by the Gestapo, and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp until May 1945. Two years later, Christian Dior named his debut fragrance Miss Dior as a tribute to his sister.

Roman Polanski

The controversial film director was born in France but his family moved to Poland when he was three. His father was Polish painter Ryszard Liebling, and his mother was Russian actress Bula Liebling.

Polanski managed to escape the Krakow Ghetto in 1943, but both his parents were deported. The filmmaker's mother was killed in Auschwitz, but his father survived Mathausen concentration camp.

Gene Simmons

The Kiss co-front man is known for being proud of his Jewish heritage. But what you might not know is that his mother, Flora Klein, was a Holocaust survivor.

Unfortunately, other family members of the rock star didn't make it. "I did my own research and found out just how terrible it was. I’ve tried to talk about it, but she just won’t do it. She saw her mother walk into the gas chambers. Her whole family was destroyed. My mother was the only one left alive. And she was 14," said Simmons.

Gal Gadot

In a tribute to her grandfather on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Gadot said: "He lost his entire family because they were the 'wrong race' in someone else's opinion, and miraculously avoided his own untimely death 9 times!"

Geddy Lee

They eventually reunited after the war, got married, and moved to Canada in 1947. Lee once asked his mother what she thought about being liberated. “She didn’t believe [liberation] was possible. She didn’t believe that if there was a society outside the camp how they could allow this to exist, so she believed society was done in,” Lee said about her response.

Miloš Forman

But he didn't find out about it until after the war. Forman's adoptive parents, Anna and Rudolf Forman, died in separate concentration camps. But his biological father was a Jewish architect named Otto Kohn, who had in fact survived and fled to Ecuador.

Tommy Ramone

Tommy Ramone's parents, both professional photographers, survived the Holocaust. They managed to hide with the help of neighbors. They eventually moved to New York City in 1957.

Ivan Reitman

Reitman's family history influenced his filmmaking. When asked about it, the director stated: "Look, I'm an immigrant. I escaped Czechoslovakia with my parents in 1950. We're Holocaust survivors. So my whole thrust was to entertain."

Wolf Blitzer

When asked about the US welcoming Muslim refugees, Blitzer clearly could relate. He said: "As a son of Holocaust survivors who came to the United States as refugees after World War II, I strongly believe in refugee resettlement. This country welcomed my parents, who went on to establish a wonderful life in Buffalo."

Madeleine Albright

Albright's parents fled Czechoslovakia in March 1939, shortly after the German occupation. They first moved to London, and then to the US.

Jared Kushner

Kushner's grandmother, Rae Kushner, escaped to a refugee camp in Italy and then managed to move to the US with the help of relatives.

Mila Kunis

"My whole family was in the Holocaust. My grandparents passed [meaning they lived] and not many survived. After the Holocaust, in Russia, you were not allowed to be religious. So my parents raised me to know I was Jewish. You know who you are inside..."