The Return from the Other Planet

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life will be hosting a screening of The Return from the Other Planet at Cobble Hill Cinemas. The documentary film exploring the life of the writer, Holocaust survivor, and pioneering psychonaut Yechiel De-Nur, also known by his alias, Ka.tzetnik. The screening will be followed by a Q+A with the film’s director Assaf Lapid, moderated by Noa Osheroff.

The film explores the Ka.tzetnik enigma, shedding light on the person behind the myth, Yehiel De-Nur, as he struggles to reconcile with surviving Auschwitz and, as he famously said, returning from the other planet. Yehiel De-Nur lived a life shrouded in secrecy, concealing his identity behind the pseudonym Ka.tzetnik. The books he wrote about surviving Auschwitz sold millions of copies and shaped the way readers worldwide imagined the Holocaust. Despite attempts by reporters and researchers to uncover his true identity, he remained elusive, reaching mythical status in the post-Holocaust culture. 

During the explosive public trial of Nazi and Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann, Ka.tzetnik was forced to reveal his identity to the public as he was summoned to testify. In his iconic testimony, Ka.tzetnik withdrew into another dimension, famously describing Auschwitz as “the other planet” before collapsing on the witness stand, shocking the court and viewers worldwide. Haunted by new nightmares rooted in his testimony, Ka.tzetnik turns to year-long experimental LSD treatment in the Netherlands, yearning to find clarity and peace.

Yehiel De-Nur’s story speaks to how questions of literature, metamorphosis, and consciousness can begin to address the Jewish past and future. The Neighborhood invites attendees to explore these questions during the Q&A following the screening with the film’s director. 

If price is a barrier to your participation in this program, please email info@theneighborhoodbk.org to request an accommodation.