The Holocaust was a tragic event that took place between 1933 and 1945, in German occupied Europe, that ultimately took the lives of approximately 6,000,000 Jews as well as individuals from other minority groups targeted by the Nazis during that time. There have been several movies made that relate to the Holocaust and the following are 4 of the top picks.
Holocaust
“Holocaust” isn’t just a movie but is a mini-series that surrounds the events that took place during what could only be described as one of the most horrific times in history. These horrific events took place during a time span of more than ten years (1933-1945) in a very heavily German-occupied Europe. Those suffering as a direct result of these horrific events were Jews living in central and eastern Europe, and they suffered by torture, murder, or both. The movie “Holocaust” focuses on several refugee and death camps as well as the more popular ghetto in Warsaw. For those familiar with the tragedy that took place during the Holocaust, watching this mini-series will give you a new perspective on events that took place. For those unfamiliar with the tragedy that took place during the Holocaust, it will bring to life one of the most shocking events in history.
Defiance
The movie “Defiance” tells the story of three Jewish brothers living in Eastern Europe in the middle of one of the most terrible times in Jewish history. It is 1941 and World War II has brought Nazi rule to Europe, but more specifically to Belarus. The Jews are being slaughtered by the thousands but three resilient brothers by the names of Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), and Asael (Jamie Bell) manage to escape into the forest just in time to witness the murders of their entire family. Their survival will not be in vain as the brothers decide that fleeing the Nazis is not an option. They vow instead to avenge the deaths of their family members and fight back against those who are slaughtering their people. As word spreads, others join the brothers and their Nazi resistance grows. Will this small group of determined individuals find the strength and will to defeat a foe much bigger than imaginable, or will a disagreement between the two older brothers put a stop to the entire mission? Watching “Defiance” is the only way to find the answer to that question.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
When a high-ranking Nazi commandant must move his family from the city to the countryside, his young son Bruno expresses how upsetting the move is to him. The resulting boredom of the move is what sets events in motion; events that could be both devastating and tragic in the end. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” is set in World War II Germany, and Bruno is the young 8 year old son of the Nazi commandant who finds out that a farm not too far from their countryside home isn’t the internment camp that his mother believed it to be. It is instead an extermination camp which makes it difficult for Bruno since he makes friends with a young boy named Shmuel (Jack Scanlon) who is just about his age and living inside the camp. The two boys become very close and Bruno steals a piece of cake for Shmuel one night but is caught. Bruno’s father decides to send Bruno and his mother off to live with an aunt in Heidelberg which pushes Bruno into stealing a shovel and heading over to the farm to do something that may very well set in motion events both tragic and devastating for Shmuel and everyone else in the camp.
Schindler’s List
“Schindler’s List” is a true story of how one man made a difference in the lives of 1,100 Jews during the Nazi rule in 1942. Liam Neeson stars as Oskar Schindler, the German owner of a cookware and utensil factory in Poland who hired Jews to keep his factory running smoothly. Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) is an accountant also hired by Schindler which takes some doing on Schindler’s part (along with a number of bribes). You see, it was the practice of the Germans to assign all of Krakow’s Jews to the Forced Labor Camp in Plaszow. The camp was run by a commandant by the name of Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) who was known to make a habit of shooting prisoners from his balcony whenever he got drunk. Schindler sees what is happening to those in his employ and he begins to feel bad which forces him to make a decision. He decides to bribe more officials, and hire more Jews, asking the officials to keep his staff in his employ and out of the camps. When all is said and done, and the Nazi reign is over, Schindler managed to single handedly save 1,100 Jews in a time when they were all being murdered. “Schindler’s List” proves that even the actions of a single individual can make a life changing difference for many.
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