The Holocaust and Media
In recent years, there has been a large amount of literature created regarding the holocaust. Here are a few suggestions of what I consider to be accurate, accessible interpretations of the Holocaust in the media. These are my personal views regarding film as a history major. Thus, I will be focusing more on the content of the films than on filmography. I have included a survey below to get the opinion of educators regarding this issue.
Schindler's List
Stephen Spielberg's Schindler's List is considered to be one of the best deceptions of the Holocaust ever put to film. The film follows Oscar Schindler, one of the most famous rescuers of the holocaust. The film is fantastic, because it shows the sheer brutality and banality of the crime that is the holocaust. Ultimately, the film's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The film may be too brutal for showing in schools. A teacher must know their students before showing this movie.
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Grades 6-8
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas tells the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of the son of an SS officer who worked in Auschwitz. Throughout the story, the boy eventually realizes the horrors of persecution. While the film revolves around the Holocaust, the film shies away from showing the gruesome aspects of the film. This film is also extremely depressing, so an accord must be met with the students before showing this film. One major weakness of this film is how it whitewashes history, depicting Germans as being completely unaware of the Holocaust, when, in fact, many were quite aware of what was occurring. |
World at War
Grades 9-12
World at War is a BBC documentary series that covers the Second World War from beginning to end. World at War is considered to be one of the best documentaries of WWII and for good reason. The content of the documentary is very wide, covering the war from the rise of Hitler in 1933 to the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. The documentary was produced in 1973, allowing for some neutrality in historical analysis but still having enough veterans still alive to provide ample first person sources.The issue with this in teaching the Holocaust, is that the documentary does not have an implicit focus on the Holocaust. It also might lack the excitement that a fictional depiction of the Holocaust could have. |