Monday and Tuesday, we’re presenting two documentaries about breaking expectations and the power of heroism in the darkest of times. The Last Twins is a never-before-told story of an unsung hero of the Holocaust, and Becoming Katharine Graham is the story of a painfully shy woman’s evolution from self-proclaimed “doormat-wife” into one of the most powerful newspaper publishers of the 20th century.

Watch the trailers, mark your calendars or start streaming now in the PBS App.

The Last Twins

Airing Monday, June 15 at 9 PM

Now Streaming

This new documentary presents the story of Erno “Zvi” Spiegel, an unsung hero of the Holocaust who risked everything to protect some of the most vulnerable in Auschwitz—dozens of young boys, many of them twins, targeted by Dr. Josef Mengele for brutal pseudo medical experimentation. Through courage, compassion, and ingenuity, Spiegel shielded these young children from death and unimaginable harm. When liberation came, he didn’t stop—he led the boys across war-torn Europe on a harrowing journey towards their homes.

The Last Twins is narrated by Tony Award-winning actor Liev Schreiber, and was executive produced by Spiegel’s daughter, Dr. Judith Richter. Through first-hand testimony and exclusive archival material, The Last Twins brings to life the voices of the boys who survived because of Spiegel’s defiance. His acts of humanity didn’t just save lives—they created a legacy. Today, the children he protected have families of their own, with descendants who are researchers, advocates, lawyers, and musicians, living all over the world. “Erno Spiegel’s story reminds us that even in the darkest places, there are people who choose to act with courage and compassion,” said co-director Perri Peltz. “The Last Twins is a tribute to one man’s quiet defiance and the children whose lives and legacies he helped preserve.”

Becoming Katharine Graham

Airing Tuesday, June 16 at 8 PM

Now Streaming

Becoming Katharine Graham is a profile of one of the most influential forces in modern American history. The film tells the story of Katharine Graham’s accidental rise to power and how it changed history.

Born in 1917, Katharine Graham — known as “Kay” — was raised to adhere to the expectation that men would have careers, and women would raise the family. Kay, like most other women at the time, abided by these societal norms. But the course of her life would drastically change once her father, financier Eugene Meyer, bought a struggling newspaper in 1933.

This struggling newspaper was The Washington Post, and it was on the brink of collapse. Though the paper’s performance improved after 1933 — first under her father’s leadership and then her husband’s —Phil Graham’s suicide in 1963 left Kay with a leaderless newspaper and four young children, forcing her to decide whether to take over the family business herself or sell it. She made the difficult and unprecedented decision to run it herself.

At its heart, Becoming Katharine Graham highlights pivotal events of the 1970s that occurred under Kay’s leadership — the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate scandal, and a violent Washington Post pressmen’s strike — as well as treatment she endured as one of the first female leaders in corporate America. Her Pulitzer Prize winning story is sure to inspire a new generation.