Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution
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Episodes
S1 E1 - Surprising Beginnings
January 18, 200547minOver a million Jewish people died there – but Auschwitz was originally made for a different purpose. Part one of this landmark series looks at how the camp was first built to imprison and terrorize anyone who resisted Germany’s occupation of Poland. But Auschwitz was expanded and became integral to the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’ – and is now a byword for the mass-murder of an ethnoreligious group.Free trial of BBC SelectS1 E2 - Orders and Initiatives
January 17, 200548minBy 1942, Auschwitz was established as a place to murder thousands of people – but the horrific Nazi regime demanded yet more killing at the camp. The second part of this landmark series looks at how the Germans involved Poland’s Jewish Ghetto leadership in choosing who would go to Auschwitz to be murdered, and how commanders at the camp struggled to organize mass-murder on a terrible scale.Free trial of BBC SelectS1 E3 - Factories of Death
January 24, 200548minIn 1942, events in northern Europe led to the largest number of annual killings in the ‘Final Solution’. Part three of this landmark series looks at how France became the first Western country to deport its resident Jewish people to Auschwitz and the nearby Treblinka camp. As the murders increased, the likes of German officer Albert Battel risked his own life to save those of detainees.Free trial of BBC SelectS1 E4 - Corruption
January 31, 200547minIn 1943, life was good for those in power at Auschwitz. Many of the SS stole wealth from Jewish inmates as brothels were opened at the camps. Part four in the series also looks at physician Josef Mengele, who carried out horrific pseudo-scientific experiments on inmates at Auschwitz. He was particularly interested in children and twins, using them to research the power of genetic inheritance.Free trial of BBC SelectS1 E5 - Frenzied Killing
February 7, 200548min1944 was the most frenzied period of killing in Auschwitz’s grim history, with Germany’s occupation of Hungary leading to the deportation of its Jewish people. This episode examines how the Western Allies considered bombing the camp, and Adolf Eichmann made an offer to one of the most politically involved members of the Jewish community – a million Jewish lives saved for providing certain goods.Free trial of BBC SelectS1 E6 - Liberation and Revenge
February 14, 200547minThe final part of the series. On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz. They were utterly shocked by what they saw: walking skeletons, remains of gas chambers and piles of human hair. The episode also follows the stories of Jewish people who sought revenge on the Nazis after the war ended, and a former SS garrison member who, near the end of his life, confronted Holocaust deniers.Free trial of BBC Select
Details
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Subtitles
- None available
Directors
- Dominic SutherlandDetlef Siebert
Producers
- Laurence Rees
Cast
- Samuel West
Studio
- BBC
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