IHRD 2021
Through a Lens: First Footage of the Holocaust
Wednesday, January 27 // 12 PM
How did the Allied nations confront the realities of the Holocaust after the war? What images were necessary to convey the depths of destruction that had occurred? Film crews documented the liberation of several Nazi concentration and death camps for posterity and propaganda, to varying results. Some resultant images were deemed too controversial and were shelved, while others were turned into nationally screened newsreels. Join Auschwitz historian Professor Robert Jan van Pelt and the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre as we explore the unique circumstances that produced film reel that would help shape public memory for decades, and ask how these images can inform contemporary struggles for social justice.
This program is a talkback connected to screenings of the documentary Every Face Has a Name, alongside two original films made during liberation by British and Canadian filmmakers, German Concentration Camp Factual Survey (1945) and Behind the Swastika: Nazi Atrocities.
This program contains graphic images of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, based on footage shot by the Allied forces in 1945. It is recommended for mature audiences.