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940.53

Terezin Diary  (1990)

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In March 1939 the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, and two years later they turned the fortress town of Terezin, near Prague, into a concentration camp. Here 140,000 Jews from Western and Eastern Europe were imprisoned, prior to being sent to Auschwitz. Through interviews with survivors who were children in the camp, Terezin Diary documents the terrible conditions of life in Theresienstadt, as the Germans called it, as well as the artistic, educational, and spiritual activities that sustained inmates who were spared deportation. Using Terezin as a "model camp" to demonstrate to the world that they were not mistreating the Jews, the Nazis permitted a degree of cultural life there that was impossible in death camps. Terezin Diary emphasizes the enormous role that art played in the lives of these Jews, many of whom continued their music, painting, writing, and theater in their later lives.

1 hr. 28 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

Yaffa Eliach’s remarkable film which chronicles the journey of four Holocaust survivors who return to their small town of Eishyshok, Poland where almost all of its 3,500 Jews were massacred in 1941. Professor Eliach, a well-known Holocaust historian, leads the trip. She is accompanied by her family as well as family members of the other survivors. Documentary footage and photos bring alive the world of the shtetl as the survivors recall life in Eishyshok. They describe their life before the war as well as how they escaped and survived the massacre. One survivor was an eyewitness to the massacre, surviving in the pit amid the dead bodies of his family and friends. Eliach tells her incredible personal story which will bring most viewers to tears. Viewers watch as the survivors search in modern day Eishyshok for remnants of their life and neighbors they had known. Professor Eliach’s companion book of the same title provides a detailed history of 900 years of Eishyshok and its inhabitants. Note: The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has a “Tower of Life” exhibit which displays photographs of Eishyshok life from ground floor to ceiling - photographs which Yaffa Eliach has collected over the years of life in her shtetl. Teacher may wish to use this film as a follow-up to class trips to the Museum.

AGE:  13 to Adult

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THERESIENSTADT—GATEWAY TO AUSCHWITZ: RECOLLECTIONS FROM CHILDHOOD (1993)

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Theresienstadt was set up as a “model” ghetto, where art, music, drama, ballet and sports were part of the inmates’ daily routines. Over 140,000 Jews were interned there—and of the 15,000 under age 15, less than 100 survived. Contains interviews with survivors who discuss their intense childhood experiences in this camp. International Award Winner.

57 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

Narrated by Mike Wallace, this documentary takes an in-depth look at the action – or inaction – of the Allies during the war. It attempts to tackle four key questions: Did the Allies know what was happening to the Jews? Could the Allies have bombed the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz-Birkenau? Why didn’t the Allies bomb the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz? And perhaps, most importantly, what prevented the Allies – and particularly, the Americans – from responding to this evil, knowing that 10,000 Jews were being murdered daily at Auschwitz-Birkenau? To answer these questions, the film utilizes interviews with historians, military experts, U.S. Air Force fighters from World War II, and Holocaust survivors. It offers proof that the Allies knew by November, 1942, that massive numbers of Jews were being exterminated in concentration camps. World War II veteran pilots testify that it would have been feasible for the Allies to bomb both the gas chambers and the tracks leading to the camps. Then why didn’t the Allies do something? According to the film, it seems that the real reason the Jews weren’t helped is that they “simply did not matter enough to the Allies.” Note: Includes graphic film footage.

53 min.  AGE:  17 to Adult

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THEY RISKED THEIR LIVES: RESCUERS OF THE HOLOCAUST  (1991)

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This video on Righteous Gentiles—non-Jews who took risks to help Jews during the Holocaust—includes interviews with a wide variety of Holocaust rescuers, including Polish diplomat Jan Karski. These individuals jeopardized their own personal security as well as the lives of their families—often for absolute strangers. Gay Block, who co-authored the book Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust with Malka Drucker, interviews over 100 Holocaust rescuers from 12 countries. Recorded on this film are some of their stories, as these rescuers tell why they put their own safety in peril to protect others. A fascinating look at courage and personal integrity.

54 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

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To Be or Not To Be  (1942)

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To Be or Not To Be prompted many critics to attack director Ernst Lubitsch for what they deemed a callous insensitivity to the plight of the Jewish people in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Lubitsch pointed out that his black comedy included footage of the devastated city, reflecting his personal horror and repulsion. "What I have satirized in this picture are the Nazis and their ridiculous ideology," insisted Lubitsch. Jack Benny and Carole Lombard star as a husband and wife acting team who perform with a Warsaw company. After a dashing Polish pilot falls for Lombard, he then leaves for England where he meets a mysterious man who will soon return to Poland. Could he be a Nazi spy? In a wacky series of events, Benny, Lombard, and the company assume clever disguises to outwit the Germans and foil their plot.

B&W. 1 hr. 39 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

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TRAIN OF LIFE (1999)

French Holocaust drama with comedic overtones. The inhabitants of a Jewish village in 1940s France decide that rather than waiting for the Nazis to deport them, they will stage an evacuation of their entire village. The villagers pool their resources and purchase a train for this purpose, delegating members of their community to pose as Nazis. Their intended destination is to freedom in Palestine. Comic as well as dark moments erupt throughout. One memorable scene shows the face-to-face meeting between the Jews who are costumed as Nazis and the real Nazis who come to give orders. This film joins Life is Beautiful and Jacob the Liar in the genre of “Holocaust comedy.” Note: As with all Holocaust films incorporating comedy, this one will meet with mixed response. Contains some brief nudity.

In French with subtitles.  1 hr. 43 min.  AGE:  17 to Adult

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Transport from Paradise  (1963)

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In Terezin, nothing was what it seemed: a beautiful fortress town, Theresienstadt (as the Germans called it) was also a concentration camp where hunger, disease, and death were the daily rations. A ghetto where many of the inmates were prominent musicians, artists, and intellectuals, its cultural activities were preludes to deportation. A "model city" intended to show the Nazis' humane treatment of Jews, it served as a way station to Auschwitz. Transport From Paradise captures the surreal atmosphere of Theresienstadt during a 24-hour period marked by preparations for an inspection tour by the Red Cross, the making of a propaganda film depicting a well‑fed and happy populace, and the deportation that followed. An original, masterful work, Transport From Paradise depicts the charade of the "city" that the Nazis proclaimed was "given by the Fuehrer to the Jews."

1 hr. 34 min.  AGE: Adult

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TRAPPED (1938-1939)  (Pillar of Fire, Chapter 10)  (1981)

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“Crystal Night" in Germany, growing anti-Semitic tension in Poland and shiploads of Jewish refugees with no place to land create a dark mood of entrapment. Britain issues a White Paper asserting its final renunciation of the Balfour Declaration. Study guide available.

Color/B&W. 1 hr.  AGE: 12 to Adult

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TREASON OR HONOR: GERMAN RESCUERS OF THE HOLOCAUST  (1999)

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This documentary looks at six specific cases of Germans who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, defying Nazi orders. It includes interviews with the rescuers who describe why they put themselves at risk, or with their children who talk about their parents’ acts. Over 300 German nationals have been honored at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem for their acts of moral courage protecting Jews during the war.

28 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

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940.53

Trial at Nuremberg  (1958)

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At the end of World War II in Nuremberg, Germany, twenty-one former officials in the Nazi regime were tried before the International Military Tribunal, composed of judges from the United States, England, France, and the Soviet Union. The defendants, ranging from SS policy makers to high-level hatchet men, stood accused of crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and war crimes. From 1945 to 1946, testimony and evidence presented at this first of twelve Nuremberg Trials revealed the scope of Nazi atrocities. Trial at Nuremberg was broadcast in 1958 on the CBS documentary series "The Twentieth Century," hosted by Walter Cronkite. The program is a review of key moments from the trial and includes captured German Army film footage depicting the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto and the horrors of the concentration camps.

B&W. 30 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

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THE TRIUMPH OF MEMORY  (1988)

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Personal testimonies of four non-Jews from different countries who fought in the Resistance, were captured and survived concentration camps. The two men and two women interviewed came from Czechoslovakia, France, the Soviet Union and Norway and survived Auschwitz, Mauthausen and Buchenwald. The bulk of their testimony is about their life in the camps and what they witnessed. The film affirms that “not all victims of the Nazis were Jews, but all Jews were victims.” An extremely well done documentary which offers both horrific truths and hope through seeing individuals who risked their lives for their moral beliefs.

30 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

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TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT  (1989)

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Dramatization of the true story of Salamo Arouch, a Jewish middleweight boxing champion. Arouch survived Auschwitz by boxing fellow inmates for the entertainment of the Nazis. After each match the loser is gassed and the winner must fight another match. Stars Willem Dafoe.

2 hrs.  Rated R.  AGE: Adult

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THE TRUCE  (1996)

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Dramatization of Italian writer and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi’s “The Reawakening”—an autobiographical account of his liberation from the camps and his homecoming. Actor John Turturro plays Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist who joined the Italian resistance in World War II and was deported to Auschwitz. The film follows Levi after liberation, showing his experiences on his journey home to Italy. Levi travels with a group of survivors and wrestles with his reawakening emotions as he adjusts to a new life in freedom. Directed by Martin Scorsese.

1 hr. 47 min. Rated R.  AGE: Adult

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THE TWILIGHT ZONE: DEATHSHEAD REVISITED  (1961)

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Outstanding Holocaust-related episode of the science fiction series created by Rod Serling. An unrepentant former Nazi SS captain returns to the Dachau Concentration Camp where he had ordered hideous crimes against his fellow man. He wanders through, reminiscing. To his horror and disbelief, he is greeted by one of his Jewish victims—unfortunate for him, since all of his victims are dead. He is then put on trial by the ghosts of his victims, who try him for his crimes against humanity.

22 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

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UNDER THE DOMIM TREE  (1994)

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Powerful coming-of-age story of Aviya, a teenage girl in 1950’s Israel. Aviya lives in a youth village created for troubled youth and orphans who survived the Holocaust. Aviya’s mother, a Holocaust survivor who was a partisan fighter during the war, has suffered so much emotional anguish that she is unstable and usually in a mental institution. Three main themes permeate this film: teens interacting and coming of age; the terrible aftereffects of the Holocaust on youth; and life in the early years of the State of Israel. Based on the book Under the Domim Tree and a sequel to the book and film The Summer of Aviya, the video depicts autobiographical events in the life of Israeli actress Gila Almagor. A poignant, moving and unforgettable film. Note: As this film portrays people who were emotionally scarred by the Holocaust, some scenes may be upsetting to youth. Teachers must preview and should provide some background to the class before viewing—and be prepared to handle discussions after viewing.

In Hebrew with subtitles. 1 hr. 42 min. AGE: 13 to Adult

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UPRISING (2001)

Powerful, made-for-TV docudrama of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The film stars Hank Azaria as Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the Jewish Resistance. It opens in 1939, when the Nazis invade Poland and all Jews are forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto. Life for the Jews in the Ghetto is graphically shown as viewers watch people copy with starvation, disease and constant eruptions of violence. Major figures depicted include Adam Czerniakow (Donald Sutherland) and Janusz Korczak. Czerniakow was the chairman of Warsaw’s Jewish Council who believed he could save lives by cooperating with the Nazis until his eventual suicide: Janusz Korczak was in charge of a Jewish orphanage and accompanied children on the transport leading to their deaths. Shown also are the forced evictions of Jews from the Ghetto onto trains leading to concentration camps. The main thrust of the film, however, is to depict the organization and workings of Jewish resistance in the Ghetto, leading to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. Actors David Schwimmer and Leelee Sobieski join Hank Azaria in leading the Resistance, Jon Voigt plays Nazi General Stroop and Cary Elwes portrays Nazi propaganda filmmaker Fritz Hippler. Note: Unrated but contains scenes of violence and partial nudity. This is probably the strongest and most historically accurate of the 3 made-for-TV about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The other two are “The Wall” (1982) and “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” (1996).

2 hrs. 57 min.  AGE:  14 to Adult

William Hurt plays Varian Fry, the American journalist sent to France by the Emergency Rescue Committee in 1940 to save the lives of artists and intellectuals from the Nazis. Fry was sent to rescue 200 people in 3 weeks, and actually remained for months, rescuing over 2,000 refugees. Among these rescued include artist Marc Chagall and his wife, Franz and Alma Werfel, Heinrich Mann and Hannah Arendt. Note: Criticism has been made assaulting the validity of some of the facts as well as of the portrayal of Fry and his assistant, Miriam Davenport. A critique by Pierre Sauvage can be found in the “Study Guide” file for this video. Contains mature subject matter.

2 hrs. 2 min.  AGE:  Adult

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THE VISAS THAT SAVED LIVES  (1992)

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Japanese-produced docudrama about Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese Consul to Lithuania, who approved 1,600 visas to Jews against his country’s orders. The film shows both the personal and professional life of this man, and the difficulty he had making the moral decision to disobey his orders. Viewers also see the consequences that befell Sugihara and his family as a result of the choice he made. It was not until 1968 that Holocaust survivors found Sugihara in Japan, and in 1985 he was honored by the State of Israel as one of the Righteous Gentiles and given the Medal of Justice. Includes an interview with his widow. Note: A very well acted and moving film.

In Japanese with subtitles. 1 hr. 55 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

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VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED  (1983)

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Dramatization of the true story of the St. Louis—the ship which left Nazi Germany for Havana, Cuba, in 1939 with over 900 Jews on board, all holding visas. The ship was not allowed to dock in Havana and was denied access in Miami. With no safe haven, the ship was ready to return to Germany when some European countries agreed to accept the refugees. Stars Faye Dunaway, Max von Sydow, Orson Welles, James Mason, Lee Grant, Julie Harris and Malcolm McDowell.

2 hrs. 17 min. Rated PG.  AGE: 13 to Adult

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VOYAGES (1999)

French film with three separate stories about older Jewish women whose lives were all affected by the Holocaust. The film presents each story individually, but the characters’ lives eventually intertwine in unexpected ways. The first story involves Rivka, who is on a bus tour of Poland with her husband. Accidentally, Rivka is left behind at one of the stops. The pair has a bitter argument, as Rivka’s husband didn’t notice she was missing and has neglected her for years of their marriage. The second story looks at Regine, a woman in Paris whose father was recorded as having died in the camps. Regine travels to Lithuania to meet a very old man who claims to be her father. While listening to his story, she realizes he is not her father – but travels with him to Israel to try to find his real daughter. The third story follows Vera, who travels from Moscow to Tel Aviv to search for a cousin. When Vera gets lost, she is befriended by Rivka, from the first episode. In all three stories, the characters seek connections with family members and sometimes end up making new connections through the kindness of complete strangers.

In French with subtitles.  1 hr. 55 min.  AGE:  14 to Adult