Genocide is episode 20 of the 1973 Thames Television documentary series The World at War. Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties The World at War is a 26-episode television documentary series on World War II, including the events leading up to it and following in its wake It contains first-person testimonies concerning the Holocaust, and features film footage and photographs of the events described. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as The episode was written by Charles Bloomberg, and was researched by Drora Kass and Susan McConachy.
Summary
The programme begins with Laurence Olivier himself giving a warning to the viewer about the disturbing scenes that are about to be shown in the episode. Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron It then goes to the rise of a young clerk in the Nazi party hierarchy--Heinrich Himmler, who will eventually lead the SS, and the impression given by a young recruit at the time--Karl Wolff, who later became Himmler's adjutant. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff ( May 13, 1900 &ndash July 17, 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS. The episode charts the rise of the SS, the formulation of Nazi policy against the Jews, and its first atrocities, which tend to be messy and inefficient. So a method was searched for exterminating the Jews, which turned out to be gassing. The Wannsee Conference formulated this "final solution," and camps were built for this purpose near railway lines, especially one named Auschwitz. The Wannsee Conference was a Meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on The Final Solution ( Die Endlösung) was Nazi Germany 's plan and execution of its systematic Genocide against European Jewry during World "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Once the mechanics were done, the exterminations began until the end of the war--with nothing done to stop it. Subterfuges were employed to hide the truth, including the infamous Theresienstadt camp. Theresienstadt concentration camp (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi Concentration camp during World War II.
The episode features interviews with three former SS members: Richard Böch, Wilhelm Höttl and Karl Wolff. Wilhelm Höttl ( March 19, 1915 - June 27, 1999) was an Austrian Nazi Party member S Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff ( May 13, 1900 &ndash July 17, 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS. Böch was a lance-corporal based at Auschwitz, and in the program he relates that he saw a gassing first-hand. "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Höttl was a major and SS administrator, and he testifies that Adolf Eichmann himself told him that six million Jews had been killed. General Wolff, the adjutant to Heinrich Himmler, recalled that he once accompanied Himmler on a visit to a camp near Minsk. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers Wolff narrates that Himmler witnessed shootings there, and became ill after being accidentally spattered during one execution.
Six Jewish Holocaust survivors also give their accounts: Rita Boas Koupman, from the Netherlands; Avraham Kochavi and Rivka Yosilevska, from Poland; Dov Paisikowic, from Hungary; Rudolf Vrba, from Czechoslovakia; and Primo Levi, from Italy. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Rudolf 'Rudi' Vrba, born Walter Rosenberg (September 11 1924 &ndash March 27 2006 was a professor of pharmacology at the University of British Columbia. Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Primo Michele Levi ( July 31, 1919 &ndash April 11, 1987) was a Jewish Italian Chemist, Holocaust survivor Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Paisikowic worked in several crematoria in Auschwitz, and he saw a number of gassings, including that of a group of Gypsies. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins
There is also an interview with Lord Avon (Anthony Eden), Winston Churchill's foreign secretary, in which he describes how evidence of the mass killings reached his office, and his statement to the House of Commons on the subject at the end of 1942. Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords
The end credits include a notice about Richard Böch, in which his name is spelt differently. It states that:
:The Producers wish to make it clear that former S. S. Lance Corporal Richard Böck has been exonerated by investigators of Nazi crimes at Auschwitz. He had been commended for steadfastly refusing orders to take part in the killings.
The making of the episode
In December 2006, Iran's decision to organise a Holocaust Denial conference prompted one of those involved in producing the episode to write to The Guardian newspaper with some background information:
- The news that Iran is to go ahead with a conference that will supposedly investigate whether the Holocaust actually happened. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. . . is deeply shocking. Thirty years ago when I was working on the Holocaust episode of the ITV series The World At War, my colleagues and I deliberately decided not to stop when we had gathered the first-hand witness evidence we needed for making the programme, but to gather more and put it together to be kept for posterity for use against the day when people or states claiming intellectual respectability might try to claim that the Holocaust did not happen. Sadly, it seems that day may now have arrived. We did not only collect the evidence of those who were victims in Hitler's Final Solution, but from people who held senior positions in its planning, administration and execution. All this material is stored in the Imperial War Museum, is available and will, I hope, now be used to show that those who would now deny the Holocaust happened are wrong. The Imperial War Museum is a Museum in London, England featuring military vehicles weapons war memorabilia an extensive library open to the public . .
- Michael Darlow
- Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts
External links
- The World at War at the Internet Movie Database
- Detailed list of episode contents at the Fritz Bauer Institut
- Letter by Michael Darlow
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