BBC - Auschwitz The Nazis and the 'Final Solution' (2005) Part 3 Factories of Death (March 1942-March 1943)

Auschwitz represents a crime unique in human history. Hailed as one of the world's best documentaries ever, this 6-part BBC series tells the story of the Auschwitz Death Camp, site of the largest mass murder in history. 'Auschwitz and The Final Solution' leads the viewer on an unadorned and undisguised journey to the shocking horrors of the Second World War. Writer Laurence Rees and his team interviewed over 100 eyewitnesses, including former Nazi perpetrators who speak on the record for the first time. Their story is brought to life through the use of archived footage, recreations of key moments, computer reconstructions based on recently discovered plans of the camp, and their testimony. The series follows the traces of the mass murder. It begins with the construction of Auschwitz as a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners and shows how it developed into the largest extermination camp during World War II. It explains the liberation of the camp by the Red Army in January 1945 and shows the fates of victims and perpetrators in the post-war period. Series combines the memories of victims and perpetrators with archive footage and very carefully staged drama reconstructions of many key scenes in the history of the camp. For the first time, the buildings of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex are reconstructed using the latest CGI computer animations. The animations are based on plans from the design offices that were confiscated after the end of the war, as well as eyewitness accounts and aerial photographs. They not only show the real Auschwitz, but also make it clear with which visions the Nazis set up the camp. “The name Auschwitz is quite rightly synonymous with horror,” says series producer Laurence Rees, “but the problem with horror is that our natural reaction is to want to turn away from it.” The series still wants to show what happened. But it's not just about the shocking and unimaginable suffering of the victims. It also addresses the question of why the perpetrators acted the way they did. “I am convinced that feeling horror is not enough. We must also try to understand how such horror could have happened if we are to be able to prevent it from happening again in the future”, says Rees. Three years of intensive research preceded the filming. In the course of the production, survivors and perpetrators had their say in almost 100 interviews, many of whom spoke about Auschwitz in front of a camera for the first time. Many documents and plans that were used for the production have only been accessible since the archives in Eastern Europe were opened.

Part 3 Factories of Death (March 1942-March 1943)

In 1942, the “final solution to the Jewish question” became the declared goal. The Nazis begin to deport Jews east from across Europe. Treblinka is expanded into a murder factory. Rudolf Hoess is planning a similar extension for Auschwitz. The Nazis' marshalling of Jews from across Europe - including the Channel Islands- gained momentum in 1942. Unable to cope with the huge influx, Auschwitz and Treblinka were modified with bigger gas chambers and crematoria. But inspirational stories of courage and compassion could still be found among this appalling catalogue of inhumanity, including that of German officer Albert Battel, who risked his life to save detainees. “Factories of Death” examines the complex annihilation system that the Nazis spread throughout Europe, with Auschwitz as the hub. We learn why the first transport of Jewish men, women, and children interred at Drancy, outside Paris, were transported to Auschwitz in March 1942 and what happened to the children who were rounded up without their parents. Genocide is being perpetrated not only at Auschwitz, but at other camps, such as Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor. Astonishingly, rival Nazi camp commanders participate with enthusiasm and share ideas for the best method of mass murder.

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