The Last Stage is a 1948 Polish historical drama film directed and co-written by Wanda Jakubowska, depicting her experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The film was one of the early cinematic efforts to describe the Holocaust. Jakubowska’s film influenced subsequent directors that dealt with the subject, including Alain Resnais, Gillo Pontecorvo and Steven Spielberg. In film criticism, it is often referred to as "the mother of all holocaust films".
Front cover of Polish Film Magazine Nr. 36 with actors from the movie "The Last Stage"
Director, Wanda Jakubowska with cinematographer, Bentsion Monastyrsky during filming on 1 November 1947
The film's premiere in Paris on 23 December 1948
Wanda Jakubowska was a Polish film director. Although she directed as many as 15 films over 50 years, Jakubowska is best known for her work on the Holocaust. Her 1948 film The Last Stage was an early and influential depiction of concentration camps. It was filmed on location at Auschwitz, where Jakubowska had been interned.
Wanda Jakubowska
Wanda Jakubowska during the filming of The Last Stage