940.54

THE WALL  (1982)

Wal

This dramatization of John Hershey’s novel The Wall depicts the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It is based on an actual diary from the Warsaw Ghetto. The film shows daily life and survival in the ghetto, where 3,000 Jews are taken away each day. When one escapes and returns to tell the rest about the gas chamber, they organize a revolt—and the film ends with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

2 hrs. 15 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

940.53

THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE  (1984)

Wan

Reenactment of the Wannsee Conference—a secret meeting of 14 high-ranking Nazi civil servants and SS officers on January 20, 1942. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss how to implement “the final solution to the Jewish problem.” The producer of this film carefully researched the minutes of the conference, as recorded by Adolf Eichmann, and has dramatically re-created the meeting. The fact that it’s in German intensifies the authentic feeling the film creates.

In German with subtitles. 1 hr. 27 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

940.53

WARSAW GHETTO  (n.d.—around 1965)

War

Detailed and complete pictorial documentary about the Warsaw Ghetto, from its creation to its destruction. The video is totally compiled from film shot by German armies and Gestapo, and photographs from Himmler’s personal collection. Alexander Bernfes, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, spent twenty years collecting the documentation which comprises this film. Presents an accurate and often graphic view of what daily life in the ghetto was like for its Jews. An outstanding resource for Holocaust studies. Note: Includes graphic documentary film including some nudity.

B&W. 53 min.  AGE: Adult

940.53

THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING  (1993)

War

Through film footage, still photos and survivors' testimonies, we watch the events starting with the Nazi invasion of Poland and leading to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The film takes the viewer step-by-step through the deportations, life in the ghetto, formation of a resistance organization and finally, the Uprising. Produced by Beit Lohamei Haghetaot—The Ghetto Fighters’ House.

22 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

F

THE WAVE  (1981)

Wav

A riveting dramatization of an incident that took place at a northern California high school in 1967. In response to a student questioning how the German people could claim ignorance of the Holocaust, the teacher initiates a classroom experiment. Through strict, regimented behavior, Mr. Ross creates ”The Wave”—a school movement based on ideas of power, discipline and superiority designed to make the students understand the mentality behind Hitler's Youth Movement. Note: The results are frightening and should be used to promote discussions about prejudice, conformity, misuse of power and the Holocaust.

46 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

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WE MUST NEVER FORGET: THE STORY OF THE HOLOCAUST  (1994)

We

Designed to give classrooms a brief overview of the Holocaust through photographs and news footage. The film places emphasis on the personal testimony of Holocaust survivor Rosa Katz who describes what she saw in the Warsaw Ghetto and how she survived Auschwitz. Note: An extensive 24-page teacher’s guide is available which includes the script, teaching ideas, a bibliography and five reproducible activities to stimulate critical thinking.

35 min. AGE: 13 to Adult

940.53

WE WERE THERE: JEWISH LIBERATORS OF THE NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS  (1994)

We

Documentary focusing on the experiences of Jews who served in the Allied Forces during World War II and helped liberate the concentration camps. Many of the Jewish GIs could speak Yiddish or Hebrew, which enabled them to communicate with the survivors. Those interviewed describe what they encountered when they entered the camps and offer personal testimony about existing conditions and the reactions of survivors to them. Includes documentary film footage of the camps and survivors at the end of the war. Note: Film footage and descriptions are quite graphic.

Color/B&W. 35 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

940.54

WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT  (1989 Classroom Version)

Wea

A moving account of the villagers of Le Chambon—a remote village in southeastern France—and their rescue of over 5,000 Jews during the Holocaust. The Huguenot Protestant villagers sheltered the Jews, and not one villager informed the authorities. The film uses interviews with the rescuers and survivors, newsreel footage, photographs and historical accounts. The filmmaker, Pierre Sauvage, was one of the Jews saved by the village. Study guide available. Note: The film depicts heroism found in “ordinary” individuals and is a prime illustration of humanity’s capacity for goodness.

38 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

940.54

WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT  (1989 Full-length Version)

Wea

This is the original version of the film by Pierre Sauvage about the French village of Le Chambon—where ordinary citizens risked their lives to save the Jews of their community. The video is introduced by Bill Moyers and concludes with a 30-minute dialogue between Mr. Moyers and filmmaker Sauvage, who was a Jew born in Le Chambon while his parents were being sheltered there during the war. Note: This version has additional footage and more interviews than the classroom version—interviews with citizens and clergy of Le Chambon, as well as Jews who were saved.

Color/B&W. 2 hrs. (including 30 min. interview)  AGE: 13 to Adult

940.54

THE WHITE ROSE  (1983)

Whi

An important German-made Holocaust feature film, based on the true story of the German resistance group known as “The White Rose Society.” This group of five German college students and their professor secretly produced and distributed anti-Nazi literature—an effort which cost them their lives. The film sheds light on the perspectives of the small number of Germans who actively resisted Nazism and Hitler. The epilogue of the film notes that the legal judgment which condemned The White Rose Society had not been rescinded in Germany. Therefore, the film was banned from distribution abroad until the German government finally officially invalidated the court system that had sentenced the group to death. The film is directed by Michael Verhoeven and stars Lena Stolze—both of The Nasty Girl. Note: The film may be initially challenging for American audiences to follow, but it is worth seeing through. Its view of non-Jewish German resistance to Hitler is an important addition to Holocaust studies. Includes very brief partial nudity.

In German with subtitles. 2 hrs. 3 min.  AGE: Adult

JHVC

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Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die?  (1982)

Who

Why was the American response to the extermination of European Jewry so inadequate? Could an aggressive approach by American-Jewish leaders have changed the fate of millions? Was President Roosevelt hamstrung by an isolationist Congress and anti-Semitic public opinion, or would different tactics have persuaded him to make Jewish rescue a war aim earlier? Did the State Department obstruct such attempts? These troubling questions still plague many Jews and historians. Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? takes a hard look at the U.S. failure to open its doors to Jewish refugees and the Jewish role in that failure. The film includes interviews with those active in and out of government in the 1940’s—Peter Bergson, Nahum Goldmann, and John Pehle of the War Refugee Board, among others—whose views range from scathing indictments to rationales for what most agree was "too little, too late."

1 hr. 30 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

946.9

WITHOUT THE PAST: PORTUGAL  (1997)

Wit

Traces the history of Portuguese Jewry from its beginning until today. The film is primarily narrated by Isaac Bitton, a Portuguese Jew whose ancestors were expelled from Portugal in the 1490’s and returned after the Great Earthquake of 1755. A bulk of the film deals with the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Faro, in the Southern Agar province of Portugal. At the end of the film, the story is told of Dr. Aristedes de Sousa Mendes—the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France—who issued 30,000 visas to Jews fleeing the Nazis during the Holocaust. Note: Teachers or individuals looking for a history of the Jews in Portugal should use the section found in the first 10 minutes of the film. Those wishing to use the information about the Righteous Gentile, Dr. Aristedes de Sousa Mendes, should skip to about 18 minutes into the film. The film is somewhat difficult to understand at times due to the narrator’s heavy accent.

24 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

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WITNESS TO THE HOLOCAUST  (1980)

Wit

Two separate videotapes, each narrated by Holocaust survivors and describing life for Jews under the Nazis. Study guides available.

Tape 1

WITNESS TO THE HOLOCAUST

A seven-part series on the Holocaust, shown through the eyes of those who lived through it. Interviews with survivors provide the narration for documentary footage and photographs. Produced for educational purposes, the film maintains a balance between historical information and human response.

17-20 min. ea.  AGE: 12 to Adult

RISE OF THE NAZIS - Vol. 1.  Documents the economical and political conditions in Europe and Germany that influenced the rise of the Nazis. Shows the early stages of oppression of the German Jews, including Kristallnacht in November 1938.

GHETTO LIFE - Vol. 2.  Documents events within the ghettos from 1940 to the deportation in 1942. Describes ghetto conditions, Jewish efforts to continue living, and the role of the Judenrat—the Jewish Council.

DEPORTATIONS - Vol. 3.  A detailed account of how Jews were deported in 1941 to concentration camps in eastern Europe and the attitude of bystanders. It also shows what measures people took to avoid being deported.

RESISTANCE - Vol. 4.  Narrated by resistance fighters, this film explores both spiritual and armed resistance: the keeping of faith and Jewish practice, the continuation of educational and cultural activities, and partisan fighting in revolts such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

THE FINAL SOLUTION - Vol. 5.  “The Final Solution” meant the complete extermi­nation of European Jewry. This episode deals with selection and death, as well as daily life in the concentration camps. Note: Avoids pure atrocity footage.

FREEDOM - Vol. 6.  Explores the liberation of the camps, documenting the horrors discovered by the Allies when they entered the camps. Includes the return of survivors to their homes in Europe and their efforts to begin new lives in Israel and America. Film clips of displaced person camps and of illegal immigration are also in this episode.

REFLECTIONS - Vol. 7.  An afterward in which survivors discuss the universal lessons that can be learned from the Holocaust. It also examines how the Holocaust could have happened and whether it could happen today.

Tape 2

A TIME TO REMEMBER: A MODERN OVERVIEW OF THE HOLOCAUST.  This video provides an overview of the Holocaust through haunting narration by Holocaust survivors juxtaposed with many black and white photos on screen. This is not a chronological history—rather, it provides a general picture of the experiences of Jews in the Holocaust. Note: Photos and testimony are extremely graphic.

20 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

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WITNESS: VOICES FROM THE HOLOCAUST (1999)

Powerful documentary highlighting the testimonies of 18 witnesses to the Holocaust and presenting a wide variety of experiences. Among those interviewed are survivors of the camps; a Jesuit priest; a former member of the Hitler Youth; resistance fighters; and an American POW. These testimonies, which were recorded in the 1970s, include rare documentary footage. They have been housed in Yale University’s Holocaust archives. Note: Includes difficult and graphic testimony.

90 min.  AGE:  14 to Adult

JHVC

940.53

Witnesses to the Holocaust: The Trial of Adolf Eichmann  (1987)

Wit

Fifteen years after World War II, Lieutenant-Colonel Adolf Eichmann, chief of the SS Bureau of Jewish Affairs, was abducted by Israeli agents near his residence in Argentina and taken to Israel. From April to December 1961, the world watched as Eichmann stood trial for his role in administering the systematic annihilation of European Jewry. Eichmann was found guilty and sentenced to death for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Narrated by actor Joel Grey, Witnesses to the Holocaust was compiled from portions of the court proceedings that still exist on videotape (two-thirds of the tapes have been lost). Eyewitness testimony and documentary evidence provide a comprehensive examination of the Nazi attempt to carry out the "Final Solution."

B&W. 1 hr. 30 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

Drama based on the true story of Helene Moszkiewicz, a young Jewish woman in 1940’s Nazi-occupied Belgium who joins the Resistance after her parents are taken by the Nazis. Helene speaks fluent German, and the Resistance uses her as a spy working within the Gestapo. While with the Underground, Helene falls in love with Franz, a profiteer who does business with the Nazis while working for the Resistance. Based on the book Inside the Gestapo by Helene Moszkiewicz. Note: Contains some violent scenes. Rated PG-13.

1 hr. 55 min.  AGE:  13 to Adult

This video, aimed at students, provides a basic introduction to the life and times of Anne Frank. It alternates between documentary footage of the progression of the Holocaust and dramatic scenes depicting Anne Frank (with readings from her diary). Interspersed also are brief interviews with Otto Frank and Miep Gies, among others who helped hide the Frank family. The film includes narration of the words of the diary while showing historical footage of what was actually taking place. Note: conducive for classroom use, particularly when The Diary of Anne Frank is being studied.

Color/B&W.  28 min.  AGE:  10 to Adult

301.451

THE WRITING ON THE WALL  (1994)

Wri

Produced as a CBS Schoolbreak Special, this is the story of three teenage boys who write anti-Semitic graffiti on a rabbi’s house, a Holocaust survivor’s car, and the local synagogue. Rather than seeing them in jail, the rabbi suggests he teach the three boys for a total of 25 hours. In that time, he involves the boys in a learning process about the Holocaust, Judaism, and tolerance. The film stars Hal Holbrook and is based on an actual event. A 1995 Emmy Award winner. Note: Ideal for use in public schools or even Sunday School settings, relating to the topics of anti-Semitism, ethics, tolerance, or even as an introduction to Holocaust studies.

45 min.  AGE: 10 to Adult

F

THE YOUNG LIONS  (1958)

You

A World War II drama that deals with the Holocaust as well as American anti-Semitism. It concerns three main characters: Noah (Montgomery Clift), an American Jewish soldier who serves in World War II and helps liberate the camps; an American non-Jew (Dean Martin) who was a drinking, draft-dodging singer until he became a soldier; and an apolitical Austrian ski instructor named Christian (Marlon Brando) who becomes a Nazi. The film is criticized for its sympathetic presentation of the Nazi—who is portrayed as nobly performing his duties and being horrified and guilt-stricken when he sees a concentration camp for the first time.

2 hrs. 47 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

In 1899, the HaZamir Jewish chorale was formed in Lodz, Poland, where it performed for 40 years (until the Holocaust). Sixty years later, in 1999, the Zamir Chorale of Boston travels to Poland and the Czech Republic, singing the songs of their predecessors – Jewish songs of sorrow, courage and joy. The program provides background on the original Polish chorale and includes interviews with the current Zamir Chorale. The majority of the program, however, presents the Chorale’s renditions of Jewish songs from a time long gone.

60 min.  AGE:  12 to Adult

940.54

ZEGOTA: COUNCIL FOR AID TO JEWS IN OCCUPIED POLAND (1942-1945)  (1997)

Zeg

Zegota was the code name for the Council for Aid to Jews, formed in 1942 to provide hiding places, false identity documents and money to aid Jews who had escaped from the Nazis. The idea for this council generated from two non-Jewish women who were looking for an organized means of aiding Jews. They formed a cooperation between civilian activists, the London-based Polish Government-in-Exile, and the Polish underground. This documentary includes interviews with individuals who were involved in Zegota and stands as a tribute to these righteous people whose work saved thousands of lives. Produced by filmmaker Sy Rotter.

28 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult