Warsaw Ghetto documentary for BBC
Creator(s)
- James Bennett (Producer)
- Alexander Bernfes (Narrator)
- (Producer)
- Unknown
- Hugh Burnett (Producer)
- Hugh Burnett (Writer)
Scope and Content
After a brief sequence of Nazi rallies (including shots from Triumph of the Will), German footage of the invasion of Poland, and Julien Bryan footage of the siege of Warsaw in September 1939, this film uses still photographs (some from Himmler's personal collection) and much of the 1942 German propaganda footage shot in the Warsaw Ghetto. It details the daily struggle to survive the Warsaw Ghetto, including scenes of poor sanitation, smuggling food from outside, beggars, Jewish Police and the ghetto prison, deportations, collaboration, and resistance. It uses film footage of flamethrowers and German artillery to represent the putting down of the Ghetto uprising under General Stroop. ** PLEASE NOTE: At times, the narration does not accurately describe the archival footage used. For instance, the director uses German-directed footage of the Jewish Police in the Warsaw ghetto (now deemed propaganda) to illustrate a point about the brutality of Jewish Police in the ghetto and adds a German goose step marching-boots sound for even more effect. For more critical analysis, see Lucy Dawidowicz article cited in the Notes field. **
Note(s)
Additional credits: Advisor & Narrator: Alexander Bernfes (Survivor) Film Editor: James Colina Writer: James Burnett
See critical review by Lucy Dawidowicz: "Visualizing the Warsaw Ghetto: Nazi Images of the Jews Refiltered by the BBC. A Critical Review of the BBC Film 'The Warsaw Ghetto'" (Yeshiva University, 1978)
Subjects
- ARMBANDS
- CHAMBERLAIN, NEVILLE
- SMUGGLING
- BRYAN, JULIEN
- HITLER, ADOLF
- ANTISEMITISM
- PROPAGANDA (NAZI)
- GHETTOS
- STARS OF DAVID
- PROPAGANDA (ANTI-JEWISH)
- JEWS
- STARVATION
- RESISTERS/RESISTANCE (POLISH)
- DEPORTATIONS
- WARSAW GHETTO
- CHILDREN (JEWISH)
Places
- Warsaw, Poland
Genre
- Documentary.
- Film