The Holocaust was one of the most traumatic periods that man has ever collectively faced. During the mid-19th century, approximately six million European Jews were killed by Germany and its collaborators. The Germans under Hitler’s Nazi party made a sport of hunting Jews, going so far as devising ingenious methods to maximize the torture extended to the captives. This potent tsunami of hate crept into all facets of life, sparing no Jew, irrespective of age and gender.
A lot of art was born out of this traumatic experience. Films were made, and plays were written. But in the larger scheme of things, every form of art falls short in recreating the nightmare the Jews of the time went through, with the following films coming as close as possible.
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8 Amen (2002)
Pathe
Amen, by Academy Award-winning director Costas Gavras, thematically stands apart from the run of mill, Holocaust films. Rather than focusing on the horrors faced by the Jews directly, the film focuses on a chemist, turned SS officer, and his relationship with a priest, after he finds out one of his disinfectants is used to exterminate Jews. Amen is adapted from a play called The Deputy, which revolves around Pope Pius XII’s failure to speak out against the Germans and the Holocaust. Gavras, approaches the subject as a political thriller, choosing to focus on the effects of war on a few good men who find themselves in a position of power.
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7 Kapo (1960)
Cineriz
Kapo, translates to a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, who is given food and other privileges in return for supervising over other prisoners. The film follows, a 14-year-old girl called Edith (Susan Strasberg), who is uprooted from her comfortable existence in Paris and transported into a concentration camp. Edith chances upon the opportunity to assume the identity of a prisoner instead of a Jew, earning her some respite and privilege. Interestingly, Strasberg also enacted the title role, in the original Broadway production of “The Diary of Anne Frank”, making the transition from the stage to the screen feel more serendipitous and natural.
6 The Grey Zone (2001)
Lions Gate Films
Based on Dr. Miklós Nyiszli’s terrifying book Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account, The Grey Zone follows a group of Sonderkommando’s who plan a rebellion with the help of Polish Partisans. Sonderkommandos were essentially prisoners that were assigned the task of disposing of dead bodies. Having better quarters and living facilities than the other prisoners, the group was often looked up to for help by the Jews, which placed them in a moral dilemma, since their position and life span as a Sonderkommando wasn’t certain as well. Every few months, the old group was sent to a gas chamber and replaced by a new group. The film portrays one such revolt by the Sonderkommando’s that took place in Auschwitz, where the group of prisoners blew up one of the gas chambers, leading to chaos and catastrophe.
5 Europa Europa (1990)
Orion Pictures
A beautiful tale of the loss of innocence, Europa Europa, throws light on the human spirit of survival through the eyes of a small Jewish teenager named Salek. As Nazism thrives throughout the country, Salek’s family flees Germany, though the young boy gets separated from his family and finds himself in an orphanage. Soon, the Germans arrive at the orphanage, and by some favor of chance, Salek convinces them that he’s of Aryan descent, converting hate into admiration in the eyes of the Germans. The young boy then becomes an interpreter and joins Hitler’s Youth and falls in love with Lena, a hard-core anti-Semite. A tale of brutality, love and destiny, Europa Europa is one of the classics of the Holocaust.
4 Life is Beautiful (1997)
Cecchi Gori Group
While some films about the Holocaust are dark, Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful is an accurate representation of what the title suggests. In his efforts to lessen the impact of the darkness of war, a loving Jewish father creates a series of make-believe games to protect his son from the horrors of life in a concentration camp. The film metaphorically highlights the spirit of life and the need for one to always look at the bright side of things, even and especially when everything seems wrong.
3 Downfall (2004)
Constantin FilmNewmarket Films
Downfall revolves around Hitler’s last few days before his alleged suicide. The film realistically documents Hitler through his various phases of denial, and resentment, ultimately culminating in helplessness and acceptance. Downfall is mostly set in Hitler’s underground bunker, a contrast to the exuberance, which the dictator was once known for. Downfall is a bittersweet watch, capturing a man’s descent from grace. But once the realization kicks in that the man in question is directly responsible for the eradication of an entire race, empathy turns into vengeance.
2 Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Miramax Films
A testament to innocence and friendship, Boy In The Striped Pyjamas deals with themes where children are answerable for the repercussions of adults. In Bruno and Shmuel’s pure world, they aren’t aware of the hate or divide that’s placed them on opposing sides of the fence in a concentration camp. Bruno, the son of an SS officer, and Shmuel, a Jew, strike an innocent friendship that can cost them everything, including their lives.
1 The Pianist (2002)
PathéUniversal PicturesFocus FeaturesBac FilmsTobis Film
Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is arguably one of the most moving films about the holocaust. It is equal parts heartbreaking as it is shocking. Based on a Holocaust memoir by pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, the film masterfully highlights the life and trite many Polish Jews went through, irrespective of their position in society. Szpilman’s character was played by Adrien Brody, who delivered one of the best performances in modern-day acting, winning him an Oscar award at the young age of 29, making him the youngest actor to ever do so.
