Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State - Inside The Nazi State
Warner Bros. (2005)
Documentary
In Collection
#1120
0*
Seen ItYes
794051211323
IMDB   8.8
5 hr 0 mins USA / English
DVD  Region 1   NR
Linda Hunt Narrator
Samuel West Narrator
Gordon Newell (II)
Klaus Mikoleit Henrich Himmler
Horst-Günter Marx Rudolph Hess
Linda Ellerbee Hosted
Gert Heidenreich Narrator in German version
Grazyna Blecka-Kolska
Klaus Michal Zejdler
Director
Laurence Rees
Producer Laurence Rees
Writer Laurence Rees
Linda Ellerbee

Auschwitz occupies a chilling and disturbing place in the history of humankind. It began as a Nazi labor camp to terrorize the polish population and evolved into the site of the largest mass murder ever recorded. This six-part series, narrated by actress Linda Hunt (The Practice, The Year of Living Dangerously), presents an in-depth examination of the camp's evolution and the decisions that enabled such an incomprehensibly inhuman place to come into being.

Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State is the result of three years of research, drawing on the close involvement of world experts, recently discovered documents and nearly 100 interviews with camp survivors and perpetrators, many of whom are speaking on the record for the first time. Their stories are brought to life through the innovative use of archive footage, dramatic recreations of key decision-making moments, and their extraordinary testimony. While never losing sight of the suffering of the victims, this documentary offers a unique and alarming look at the mindset of the perpetrators - killers like the Commandant of Auschwitz Rudolf Hoss, camp doctor Josef Mengele, and S.S. Commander Heinrich Himmler.
Episodes
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    1/11/2005  1.  Surprising Beginnings
This episode sets the stage for the series and examines the radical increase in violence against all opponents of the Nazi state. In particular, it explores the German army's invasion of the Soviet Union during the summer of 1941 and connects this campaign to the first gassing experiments in Auschwitz, Poland, which were aimed at Russian prisoners of war, not Jews.
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    1/18/2005  2.  Orders and Initiatives
Laurence Rees continues his documentary history, marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with an account of how the Nazis developed their ""Final Solution"". By 1942, Rudolf Hess had established the camp as a place to murder thousands of Jews, Slavs, & Roma Gypsies.
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    1/25/2005  3.  Factories of Death
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.
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    2/1/2005  4.  Corruption
By 1943, life was good for many of the SS. Eyewitness accounts recall how those in power at Auschwitz lined their pockets with wealth stolen from Jewish inmates while also engaging in illicit affairs.
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    2/8/2005  5.  Frenzied Killing
SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann ordered the deportation of Hungary's Jews following occupation in 1944, precipitating the most intensive period of slaughter in Aushwitz's history. The Allies, meanwhile, faced dilemmas: should they divert valuable resources to bomb transport routes to the camp? And should they consider Eichmann's offer of one million Jewish lives in exchange for certain provisions - the ""Blood for Goods"" deal?
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins    2/15/2005  6.  Liberation and Revenge
The reality of life in the concentration camps was revealed upon the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in 1945. But what was the fate of the remaining prisoners and the SS garrisons? The final days of the war and its immediate aftermath is a story as shocking as it is surprising, with Jewish survivors facing appalling treatment in their home countries and large numbers of SS perpetrators remaining hidden.
Director:  Laurence Rees 
Guest starring:  Samuel West,  Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit
    Seen it: Yes   1 hr 0 mins  7.  The Film
Edition Details
Series Auschwitz: The Nazis & The Final Solution
Distributor BBC Warner
Release Date 3/29/2005
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo [CC]
Layers Single Side, Single Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 2

Features
Disc 01 Interview with Laurence Rees
A series of six follow-up discussions hosted by award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee