Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)'s primary photo

The U.S. and the Holocaust

Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942) (Season 1, Episode 2)
TV Episode | 138 min | Documentary, History

As WWII begins, Americans are divided over whether to intervene against Germany. Some individuals and organizations work tirelessly to help refugees escape. Germany invades the USSR and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.
Read more: Plot summary
Status
Edit Released
Updated Sep 19, 2022

Release date
Sep 19, 2022 (United States)

Contacts

Become a member to see contact information for Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942).

Cast

+ Add Cast
77 cast members
Name Known for
Peter Coyote
Narrator (voice) Narrator (voice)   See fewer
Daniel Mendelsohn
Self - Writer Self - Writer   See fewer
Guy Stern
Self - St. Louis, Missouri (as Günther Stern) Self - St. Louis, Missouri (as Günther Stern)   See fewer
Peter Hayes
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Deborah Lipstadt
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Mae Ngai
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Daniel Greene
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Susan Hilsenrath
Self - Bad Kreuznach, Germany Self - Bad Kreuznach, Germany   See fewer
Joseph Hilsenrath
Self - Bad Kreuznach, Germany Self - Bad Kreuznach, Germany   See fewer
Nell Irvin Painter
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Marlene Jaeger Mendelsohn
Self - Shmiel's Niece Self - Shmiel's Niece   See fewer
Sol Messinger
Self - Berlin, Germany Self - Berlin, Germany   See fewer
Eva Geiringer
Self - Vienna, Austria Self - Vienna, Austria   See fewer
Rebecca Erbelding
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Timothy Snyder
Self - Historian Self - Historian   See fewer
Adam Arkin
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Paul Corning
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Leon Dische Becker
Actor (voice) (as Léon Dische Becker) Actor (voice) (as Léon Dische Becker)   See fewer
Paul Giamatti
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Olivia Gilliatt
Actress (voice) Actress (voice)   See fewer
Murphy Guyer
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Carolyn McCormick
Actress (voice) Actress (voice)   See fewer
Joe Morton
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Matthew Rhys
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Bradley Whitford
Senator William Borah (voice) Senator William Borah (voice)   See fewer
Hiram Bingham IV
Self - American Vice Consul in Marseilles, France (archive footage) Self - American Vice Consul in Marseilles, France (archive footage)   See fewer
Avery Brundage
Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Winston Churchill
Self - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (archive footage) Self - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (archive footage)   See fewer
Father Coughlin
Self - Priest & Radio Personality (archive footage) Self - Priest & Radio Personality (archive footage)   See fewer
Hope Davis
Actress (voice) Actress (voice)   See fewer
Thomas E. Dewey
Self - New York County District Attorney (archive footage) Self - New York County District Attorney (archive footage)   See fewer
Adolf Eichmann
Self - S.S. Final Solution Administrator (archive footage) Self - S.S. Final Solution Administrator (archive footage)   See fewer
Henry Ford
Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Anne Frank
Self - Jewish Victim of the Holocaust (archive footage) (as Annelies Frank) Self - Jewish Victim of the Holocaust (archive footage) (as Annelies Frank)   See fewer
Edith Frank
Self - Mother of Anne and Margot Frank (archive footage) Self - Mother of Anne and Margot Frank (archive footage)   See fewer
Margot Frank
Self - Sister of Anne Frank (archive footage) Self - Sister of Anne Frank (archive footage)   See fewer
Otto Frank
Self - Father of Anne and Margot Frank (archive footage) Self - Father of Anne and Margot Frank (archive footage)   See fewer
Varian Fry
Self - Writer & Member of Emergency Rescue Committee (archive footage) Self - Writer & Member of Emergency Rescue Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Lillian Gish
Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Mariusz Glabinski
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Hermann Göring
Self - Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe (archive footage) Self - Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe (archive footage)   See fewer
Werner Herzog
Hermann Göring (voice) Hermann Göring (voice)   See fewer
Reinhard Heydrich
Self - S.S. Second in Command (archive footage) Self - S.S. Second in Command (archive footage)   See fewer
Heinrich Himmler
Self - Reichsführer-SS (archive footage) Self - Reichsführer-SS (archive footage)   See fewer
Adolf Hitler
Self - Fuehrer and Chancellor of Germany (archive footage) Self - Fuehrer and Chancellor of Germany (archive footage)   See fewer
J. Edgar Hoover
Self - Head of the FBI (archive footage) Self - Head of the FBI (archive footage)   See fewer
Cordell Hull
Self - U.S. Secretary of State (archive footage) Self - U.S. Secretary of State (archive footage)   See fewer
Abraham Jaeger
Self - Daniel Mendelsohn's Grandfather (archive footage) Self - Daniel Mendelsohn's Grandfather (archive footage)   See fewer
Ruchele Jaeger
Self - Shmiel Jaeger's Third Daughter (archive footage) Self - Shmiel Jaeger's Third Daughter (archive footage)   See fewer
Shmiel Jaeger
Self - Daniel Mendelsohn's Great Uncle (archive footage) Self - Daniel Mendelsohn's Great Uncle (archive footage)   See fewer
Fritz Kuhn
Self - German-American Bund Leader (archive footage) Self - German-American Bund Leader (archive footage)   See fewer
Gerhard Wilhelm Kunze
Self - Speaker at German-American Bund Rally (voice) (archive footage) Self - Speaker at German-American Bund Rally (voice) (archive footage)   See fewer
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Self - Wife of Charles Lindberg (archive footage) Self - Wife of Charles Lindberg (archive footage)   See fewer
Charles A. Lindbergh
Self - Chief Spokesman, America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Chief Spokesman, America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Breckenridge Long
Self - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State (archive footage) Self - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State (archive footage)   See fewer
Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Josh Lucas
Actor (voice) Actor (voice)   See fewer
Vyacheslav Molotov
Self - Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (archive footage) Self - Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (archive footage)   See fewer
Edward R. Murrow
Self - Radio Journalist (voice) (archive footage) Self - Radio Journalist (voice) (archive footage)   See fewer
Liam Neeson
Polish Holocaust victim (voice) Polish Holocaust victim (voice)   See fewer
Robert Reynolds
Self - U.S. Senator from North Carolina (archive footage) Self - U.S. Senator from North Carolina (archive footage)   See fewer
Eddie Rickenbacker
Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage) Self - Member of America First Committee (archive footage)   See fewer
Eleanor Roosevelt
Self - First Lady of the United States (archive footage) Self - First Lady of the United States (archive footage)   See fewer
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Self - 32nd President of the United States (archive footage) Self - 32nd President of the United States (archive footage)   See fewer
Gustave Schröder
Self - Captain of the 'St. Lous' (archive footage) Self - Captain of the 'St. Lous' (archive footage)   See fewer
Ida Mae Schwartzberg
Self - Günther Stern's Girlfriend (archive footage) Self - Günther Stern's Girlfriend (archive footage)   See fewer
Fulton J. Sheen
Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage)   See fewer
Alfred E. Smith
Self - Former Governor of New York (archive footage) (as Al Smith) Self - Former Governor of New York (archive footage) (as Al Smith)   See fewer
Joseph Stalin
Self - Leader of the Soviet Union (archive footage) (as Iosif Stalin) Self - Leader of the Soviet Union (archive footage) (as Iosif Stalin)   See fewer
Julius Stern
Self - Father of Günther Stern (archive footage) Self - Father of Günther Stern (archive footage)   See fewer
Nathan Straus Jr.
Self - Head of U.S. Federal Housing Authority (archive footage) (as Charley Straus) Self - Head of U.S. Federal Housing Authority (archive footage) (as Charley Straus)   See fewer
Meryl Streep
Eleanor Roosevelt (voice) Eleanor Roosevelt (voice)   See fewer
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Self - Reichsminister of Foreign Affairs (archive footage) Self - Reichsminister of Foreign Affairs (archive footage)   See fewer
Wendell Willkie
Self - Republican Presidential Nominee 1940 (archive footage) Self - Republican Presidential Nominee 1940 (archive footage)   See fewer
Stephen Wise
Self - Rabbi (archive footage) Self - Rabbi (archive footage)   See fewer
Robert E. Wood
Self - Co-Founder of America First Committee (archive footage) (as General Robert E. Wood) Self - Co-Founder of America First Committee (archive footage) (as General Robert E. Wood)   See fewer
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.

MOVIEmeter

Members only

Become a member to access additional data

Ratings Breakdown