Die Wahrheit über den Holocaust (The Truth about the Holocaust)
An 8x 52’/43′ documentary series by William Karel & Blanche Finger, German Adaptation: Florian Dedio
“It’s impossible to talk about Auschwitz. Our head refuses. We cannot comprehend the death of one child. How are we to comprehend the death of millions?”
(Aharon Appelfeld, israeli author)
But even so, that is exactly the aim of this documentary co-production: to tell of the Holocaust, to comprehend it, from beginning to end, and until the present day.
For the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27th, 2015, this series re-examines how and why the Holocaust was ever possible.
How could it happen that six million Jews were killed, and the world simply looked on?
The Holocaust’s cruel chronology becomes visible. It begins with defamation and ridicule and ends with incarceration and finally extermination.
Over 60 historians, authors, and survivors of the Holocaust from Germany, France, Poland, Israel, the UK and the United States were interviewed for the series, among them Ian Kershaw, David Cesarani, Christopher Browning, Michael Berenbaum, Peter Longerich, Saul Friedländer, Benjamin Ferencz, Amos Oz, David Grossmann und Georg Stefan Troller.
Their interviews are cross-cut with archive footage, such as films and photos, some of which come from private and never-before-seen sources.
Additionally, the series showcases official documents about the Holocaust, as well as newly filmed footage from around the world, from the places that have been left behind, the places of destruction, and the places of new beginnings and memories.
A Series By: William Karel & Blanche Finger
German Adaptation: Florian Dedio
Edited By: Markus Thüne
Creative Producer: Regina Bouchehri
Music: Gréco Casadesus
Producers: Pawel Rozenberg, Céline Nusse, Gunnar Dedio
Commissioning Editors (ZDF): Susanne Krause-Klinck, Christian Deick