Social Media Star Montana Tucker Is Bringing Holocaust Awareness To A Younger Generation

With millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, award-winning dancer, singer and content creator Montana Tucker is committed to using her voice to spread awareness about the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Tucker’s goal with her platform and content has always been about promoting positivity and love, tackling social issues like body image and anti-bullying. Her dream is to inspire people to speak out against hate of any kind.

As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, raising awareness about Holocaust education is her most personal mission yet.

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day (known as Yom HaShoah in Hebrew and as Israel’s day of commemoration for the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust), Tucker’s message takes on new meaning — hopefully for generations to come.

“When people — especially women — seek out what they believe in, it’s so important. Especially for the younger generation. That’s why I think it’s so important to remind people that they can speak out about something they believe in.”

In June 2022, Tucker and her mother, Michelle, made the journey to Auschwitz, Poland, the site of the concentration camp where her great-grandmother and other family members perished. She documented her experience in roughly two-minute long TikTok reels, which she cross-posted on Instagram. The reels, titled How To: Never Forget, have thus far been viewed over seven million times. YouTube has since picked up the 10-episode TikTok docuseries, repackaging the episodes as one full-length 23-minute documentary.

When Montana and Michelle made the trip to Poland, they knew they had to document it. Montana’s grandfather had passed away three and a half years ago, which prompted her to rewatch the Shoah Foundation tapes of her grandparents’ interviews. That’s when she knew she had to do something with these stories.

Tucker originally wanted to time the launch of the web series with the November anniversary of Kristallnacht (also known as the Night of Broken Glass), but when Kanye West’s antisemitic rhetoric was adding fuel to the antisemitic fire last fall, Tucker knew the moment to release the web series became even more critical and timely.

“When such prominent figures that people idolize, like Kanye West, start sharing hateful messages, it’s serious,” Tucker says. (It’s worth noting that Kanye West’s social media following is larger than the entire Jewish population.)

Tucker’s message is one that’s even more critical for the new generation, as statistics show that Holocaust awareness and education is on the decline, while antisemitic incidents hit a record high in 2021.

According to an NBC News story published in 202o, a survey points to a lack of Holocaust knowledge among American millennials and Gen Z.

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed did not know six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. (Over half of those thought the toll was under two million. Over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos were established during World War II, but nearly half of U.S. respondents could not name a single one.)

The hope is to wake people up, with the help of Tucker’s global platform on TikTok and Instagram, by sharing the stories her grandparents always told her.

Her message is making all the right waves.

Tucker was invited to the White House in March for a one-on-one conversation with Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. They discussed the importance of using their platforms to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate — “there’s an epidemic of hate going on right now” — as well as how their recent experiences visiting Auschwitz changed them forever.

The main message of their sit-down: Be proud, be joyful, live openly, live without fear — to young people and everyone out there.

Tucker has also been invited to speak at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., as well as at Congress. In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tucker joined Dr. Edith Eger for a conversation on ABC Nightline, about keeping the memories and lessons of the Holocaust, front and present in our lives.

For Tucker, performing has always been her passion and career path. The Florida native has been in the entertainment industry since age 8, while her mother Michelle was her manager. Tucker’s television credits include Barney: The Land of Make Believe and a PBS TV show with Ariana Grande. Her mother opened a dance company called Pop Stars, which brought famous choreographers from Los Angeles and New York down to South Florida. “When I was 13, I learned how to dance in heels before even walking in heels,” Tucker shares.

After serving as a backup dancer for singers like Ashanti, her career reached new heights: Tucker knew she wanted to be an artist. She trained with a vocal coach, and soon opened for the likes of Lil Wayne, Ciara, Pitbull, and Flo Rida.

Tucker’s popular original songs “Be Myself” and “I’m Not Alone” were written by her, to inspire young people to respect their own and others’ inclusion and diversity.

Tucker even collaborated with her idol, Jennifer Lopez, several times (she appeared in videos with Lopez and even danced with her, at the end of Lopez’s Vegas residency).

She’s even filmed videos with everyone from Terry Crews to Paula Abdul and wrestler Ric Flair. That’s why I love social media,” Tucker shares. “Because people are always open to collaborating, and it’s people who otherwise might not necessarily have the same followings.”

The power of coming together and collaboration is one of social media’s most magical benefits. But on the flipside, it can also be a place where hatred and racism spread like wildfire. Tucker is no stranger to negativity and hate: when she shared clips of her documentary on her Instagram and TikTok accounts, she received a slew of antisemitic messages and comments by Holocaust deniers.

“My grandparents always spoke at the schools — Holocaust education was always important to them,” Tucker shares. “I’m so thankful because the web series is really impacting people. It’s instilling this whole new pride in young members of the Jewish community. They watch the series, and then post an episode on their social platform. Whether people have 10 followers or 10 million followers, it’s not about that — it’s people really having this new pride instilled in them. And then the non-Jewish community sending me messages like, ‘I didn’t really know this stuff. Thank you for educating me.’”

Today Tucker also speaks at schools, and the students in the audience who might follow her on social media for her dance videos, now become more aware of the Holocaust thanks to her content and talks.

“I’m in their faces and I’m talking to them. And they’re asking me questions and are super engaged. It’s now a whole new form of education,” Tucker says.

What are some simple things people can do to learn more about the Holocaust?

“If you have the opportunity to speak to or learn from a survivor, or visit your local Holocaust Museum — do it. The survivors are so important, because in a few years, there won’t be many left — the younger generation might never meet a survivor.”

As for inspiring others to share and spread messages of love? Tucker is determined to be the light in the darkness.

“Social media can be such a negative and dark place, but it also can be such an amazing place. So if you have the opportunity to educate or to share something that you’re passionate about, do it because you can make a difference. Even if you don’t have millions of followers, it’s not about that. It takes one person to see it, and change their mind.”