The U.S. and the Holocaust

This Ken Burns documentary was not up to the standards of his previous documentaries. Peter Coyote is a fine narrator and always pleasant to listen to. It was interesting in the first episode dealing with the prejudices and racist attitudes in the US with the influx of immigration concerns.

There were a number of historical inaccuracies that took away from what the documentary was attempting to portray. Historical documentaries need to do more than tell the viewer what happened; they need to ask the question why certain incidences occurred in order to better understand the issues being presented. There were a number of historical omissions that would have explained things more in depth. For instance; how the slaughter of 66 million Christians and Russians by the Bolsheviks influenced the mindset of the Germans during this time. The documentary also lost some credibility by having Deborah Lipstadt as a voice of authority as her input took away from some of the plausible historical accuracies with her repetitive accusatory conjecture presented as fact.

Other than that, there wasn't much revealed that hasn't been covered countless times before.

Essential viewing. Even if you think you know this history and have heard it all before, or that it's too depressing to devote 7 hours of time to, this is so masterfully crafted and has so much range that you're bound to learn something while being moved to tears. It puts the rise of fascism and what would become the Holocaust in context with attitudes in America and those around the world. The interviews, photographs, videos, etc reflect a high caliber of research; the narration and editing, a brilliant distillation. This is unvarnished, non-whitewashed history, simply stating the facts and remaining balanced. The interviews with survivors, descendants of survivors, American servicemen, and historians are simply extraordinary.

The parallel to the rising tide of hate and what may become fascism in America and other countries today is harrowing, and the filmmakers were wise to include a summary of what happened after war (hint: anti-Semitism didn't just vanish), and connect the dots to the present day. The parallel to the eugenics movement, Jim Crow, and anti-Semitism in America at the time, is incredibly damning. There is a reason Hitler simply looked to America with admiration for examples in the form of Native and African-Americans and how they were systematically killed, confined, or denigrated to second class citizens. The voices in America that not only encouraged isolationism but were outright hostile to the idea of providing aid to Jewish refugees, with officials in the State Department lying about what was known to be happening, is disheartening to say the least. On the other hand, how FDR navigated the choppy political waters, Elanor Roosevelt responded with such humanism, and how people like Raoul Wallenberg and John Pehle worked to save lives is stirring.

In a documentary filled with fantastic quotes from a wellspring of wisdom rooted in bitter experience, one that sticks me was Eva Schloss (née Geiringer) suggesting that Anne Frank would not likely have said "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart" after she had been captured and shipped off like human cattle to Auschwitz. This is not some pre-packaged rehash of history, it's presented with thought-provoking nuance. Another example are the arguments presented for and against the bombing of Auschwitz late in the war, and there are countless others, really putting us into the minds of people at the time.

With a shockingly high percentages of people who deny or aren't educated about the extent of the horror of the Holocaust, and with MAGA being a new "America First" movement also rooted in white supremacy, the timing for this documentary is perfect. One of the bitter ironies is that despite people working so hard at the time to ensure that the world knew the extent of the atrocities, overcoming skepticism in part because they were so mind-boggling, there are now new waves of people, fed misinformation and conspiracy theories, who don't believe it happened. Ken Burns and the other filmmakers strike at the heart of the importance of history, to understand and learn from it.

This film presents an interesting take on Jewish immigration during World War Two. Ken Burns et al do a good job of giving us the backstory of how FDR's administration approached the situation and the constant barrage of anti semitic forces working to keep the United States out of the war for as long as possible. The documentary is raw, graphic , and in your face but people need to see this to realize that life is precious. Man's hatred and cruelty knows no bounds but if we are reminded of it by films such as these, hopefully we can keep ourselves in check to try never to repeat this type of heinous cruelty.

I typically like Mr Burns's content. Yes, he does have a left-leaning slant but compared to other historical documentaries produced today its slight and very This revealed Burns's current stance on immigration policy more than it was history of the USA & Holocaust.

Comparing today's political discourse with societal attitudes and legislation passed (on immigration) in 1920s and 30s America is dishonest and anti intellectual... you're no better than the Bush campaign in 92 playing the prison furlough commercial. If you vote/advocate for this, then this could happen. Politics thru baseline emotions.

The program for some reason left out the importance of Margaret Sanger and the left democratic eugenics motivating the 3rd Reich for the final solution and holocaust. The idea was hatched and implemented in the US before trips to Germany spread our filth to them. And where were the righteous voices coming to the aid of innocents? They are complicit for now stopping this satanic philosophy that still can be heard in Georgia governor candidate this week. Great job producers and team, wow! Should be required in every high school social studies class. NEVER REPEAT IT IN ANY FORM! The research super!