Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution' (2005)

Overrated and overhyped

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I really don't want to review this documentary, as all is well known about Auschwitz and the atrocities that took place there. This TV series portrays this perfectly and terrifyingly accurate. The main reason I'm writing this review is because I cant contain my anger over how they can sit and interview a Nazi SS member who in his own words shot and killed Jews and his only concern while doing it was to "aim carefully"? How is this German animal not executed, or at least imprisoned for the rest of his filthy life? How can he sit in his healthy old age in the comfort of his own home and say with no sign of remorse "I shot and killed Jews"? It really baffles me, and I hope the organizations that bring Nazi criminals to justice bring down this disgusting self confessed murderer of innocent men, women and children.

Scratch the surface of a modern human being and you don't have to go too far to reach the barbarian that lies within us all. We may wish to deny it but this documentary series proves the point. Well to do and well educated Germans followed a madman who held out hope of a bright future for them, but always in the full knowledge that their prosperity would come at the cost of others (in this case, a large percentage of Europe's Jews, gypsies, disabled and above all, innocent children).I believe that there is no way that Germans living in Germany at the time of the Holocaust could have been unaware of what the SS was doing in places like Auschwitz, Belsen and Treblinka, convenient as it might be for them after the event to claim that they had no idea that mass murder was being committed in their name.This is a wonderful documentary series. I have not been to Auschwitz but I did visit Dachau outside Munich a few years ago. Dachau was horrifying enough but was a very minor player in the murders that were committed by the Germans.It was interesting and horrifying too to hear the stories that were told by Auschwitz's survivors but what I found most disturbing was the retelling of events by SS officers and guards who were at Auschwitz at various times. Right up to the time of the making of this documentary, these guys stated that what they did at the camp was right. Many of them maintain to this day that what they did was necessary and right for the survival of the German people. One would have thought that there wouldn't be one of these animals left who would not cringe and beg forgiveness for their part in the atrocities that they were involved in. Quite extraordinary that these guys still don't understand the magnitude of the crimes they committed.A must see documentary.JMV

To all of those holocaust deniers, this is something that needs to be seen to be believed, because this is too horrific to be made up. This excellently done & narrated by Oscar winning actress Linda Hunt is probably the most definitive documentary ever done on Auschwitz-Birkenau. This 6 part series gives some information on what we do know & personal stories that most of us don't as well from both the so-called "inmates" as well as those that worked there. One begs the question of what happened to those that worked there & how they justified what they did. Even if you know a lot about the concentration camps such as Treblinka & Sobibor, there is still a lot of new things shown in this program. If you don't have any knowledge at all then this program is also for you. It seems hard to believe that people would just massacre another because of their differences, but even more surprising is how systematic and matter of factly they did the wiping out of those determined "undesirables." This is a must watch for those interested in History & to those who want to understand just what had happened & make sure it never happens again. No I'm not Jewish, Muslim or religious. I study World War II history & cannot fathom for the life of me the extremes of religion, hatred or the absolute belief in anything w/out REAL proof. The deniers are unfortunately usually uneducated and do not really understand anything about history & if asked deep thinking questions about all of the so-called "FAKE" evidence cannot possibly answer all of the questions or explain away all of evidence from films, documents, pictures, books, personal stories, the camps, the graves, and the list goes on and on. The so-called conspiracy of all of this being faked is completely absurd & extremely ignorant. I challenge any to explain away all of this excellent series. Supremely done & the fact that their is so much proof about what happened is truly what astonishes me that it all is a lie. If it is a lie, it's the best most complicated lie ever told & completely utterly impossible. Too bad the holocaust deniers won't even watch this.

TV often fails to convey complex information: both in facts and emotionally; instead it mostly serves up the obvious with images to trick our eyes.This documentary sets a new standard: the research is impeccable, the interviews gripping, the production perfect in every respect and finally the horror, the terrible horror of what humans can do, is absolutely clear. A history book could not do a better job.One of the best and bravest aspects of the series is when the interviewers ask a person how they felt about a murder they committed: did they regret it, how do they feel about it now? Those interactions make it worth watching the series alone.