1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,509 {\an1}Announcer: Funding for "The U.S. And the Holocaust" 2 00:00:05,533 --> 00:00:06,709 was provided by David M. Rubenstein, 3 00:00:06,733 --> 00:00:08,776 investing in people and institutions 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:10,409 {\an1}that help us understand the past 5 00:00:10,433 --> 00:00:11,976 {\an1}and look to the future; 6 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,542 {\an1}by the Park Foundation; 7 00:00:13,566 --> 00:00:16,309 the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, 8 00:00:16,333 --> 00:00:17,742 {\an1}supporting those who remind us 9 00:00:17,766 --> 00:00:20,309 {\an1}about American history and the Holocaust; 10 00:00:20,333 --> 00:00:23,409 {\an1}by Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling; 11 00:00:23,433 --> 00:00:26,042 {\an1}by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, 12 00:00:26,066 --> 00:00:28,276 {\an1}investing in our common future; 13 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:31,209 {\an1}and by these members of the Better Angels Society: 14 00:00:31,233 --> 00:00:33,376 {\an1}Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine; 15 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:34,976 Jan and Rick Cohen; 16 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,809 {\an1}Allan and Shelley Holt; 17 00:00:36,833 --> 00:00:38,676 the Koret Foundation; 18 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:40,842 {\an1}David and Susan Kreisman; 19 00:00:40,866 --> 00:00:43,442 {\an1}Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder; 20 00:00:43,466 --> 00:00:45,709 the Fullerton Family Charitable Fund; 21 00:00:45,733 --> 00:00:47,876 {\an1}the Blavatnik Family Foundation; 22 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:49,842 {\an1}the Crown Family Philanthropies, 23 00:00:49,866 --> 00:00:52,509 {\an8}honoring members of the Crown and Goodman families; 24 00:00:52,533 --> 00:00:54,633 {\an7}and by these additional members. 25 00:00:56,966 --> 00:00:59,109 {\an8}By the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 26 00:00:59,133 --> 00:01:00,576 {\an7}and by viewers like you. 27 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,733 {\an8}Thank you. 28 00:01:09,366 --> 00:01:17,366 ♪ 29 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,409 {\an1}Daniel Mendelsohn: There are already people who think that 30 00:01:19,433 --> 00:01:22,242 {\an7}every Jew who died in the Holocaust died at Auschwitz, 31 00:01:22,266 --> 00:01:25,876 {\an7}died in a concentration camp, died in a gas chamber. 32 00:01:25,900 --> 00:01:29,533 {\an7}No. There's whole chapters of this story. 33 00:01:33,100 --> 00:01:35,242 Narrator: As hard as Shmiel Jaeger had tried, 34 00:01:35,266 --> 00:01:37,542 he had been unable to get himself, 35 00:01:37,566 --> 00:01:40,276 his wife Ester, and his 4 daughters 36 00:01:40,300 --> 00:01:43,742 {\an1}out of occupied Poland to America. 37 00:01:43,766 --> 00:01:47,076 {\an1}German troops had reached his hometown of Bolechow 38 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:50,476 {\an1}in the summer of 1941. 39 00:01:50,500 --> 00:01:55,409 {\an1}Within weeks, his daughter Ruchele was murdered. 40 00:01:55,433 --> 00:01:59,442 {\an1}That was only the beginning. 41 00:01:59,466 --> 00:02:01,076 Mendelsohn: There was another roundup, which was 42 00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:03,642 the biggest roundup in my family's town, 43 00:02:03,666 --> 00:02:09,142 2,500 people, and my great-aunt Ester 44 00:02:09,166 --> 00:02:15,142 {\an1}and the youngest girl, Bronia, who was 13 at the time. 45 00:02:15,166 --> 00:02:18,176 They kept them, this huge group of people, 46 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,142 in the square outside of the city hall, 47 00:02:22,166 --> 00:02:25,509 {\an1}and there were a lot of atrocities that took place, 48 00:02:25,533 --> 00:02:27,542 {\an1}mostly against children. 49 00:02:27,566 --> 00:02:30,176 {\an1}There were some Soviet documents that had come to light, 50 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,076 including a report, and they listed 51 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:36,142 {\an1}all the children who had been shot, and actually, 52 00:02:36,166 --> 00:02:39,142 Bronia was the first child on the list. 53 00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:41,566 {\an1}This was in September of 1942. 54 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,409 You know, they were throwing children 55 00:02:44,433 --> 00:02:46,776 off the balconies of the city hall, 56 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,476 {\an1}really terrible stuff. 57 00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:55,109 {\an7}Whoever survived the couple of days of the roundup 58 00:02:55,133 --> 00:02:58,542 {\an7}were shipped to Belzec, and that's where 59 00:02:58,566 --> 00:03:03,733 my great-aunt Ester died in the gas chambers. 60 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:13,176 {\an1}I was able to find out that Shmiel was hiding 61 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,442 with his second daughter, Frydka, 62 00:03:16,466 --> 00:03:17,876 {\an1}and that was because there was 63 00:03:17,900 --> 00:03:20,742 {\an1}a Catholic Polish boy, who was in love with her. 64 00:03:20,766 --> 00:03:23,709 And he was helping to hide her in the home 65 00:03:23,733 --> 00:03:25,742 {\an1}of this local school teacher. 66 00:03:25,766 --> 00:03:28,076 And that for some unknown amount of time, 67 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:29,876 they were being successfully hidden, 68 00:03:29,900 --> 00:03:31,609 {\an1}the father and the daughter, 69 00:03:31,633 --> 00:03:36,876 {\an1}in an underground dugout 70 00:03:36,900 --> 00:03:40,766 {\an1}until someone betrayed them. 71 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,176 And they found them, and they took them, 72 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,309 {\an1}and they shot them both, 73 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:51,109 and then they killed the school teacher, too. 74 00:03:51,133 --> 00:03:54,676 {\an1}The oldest daughter Lorka joined a partisan group 75 00:03:54,700 --> 00:03:57,042 that operated with some Polish partisans 76 00:03:57,066 --> 00:03:59,709 in a nearby forest. 77 00:03:59,733 --> 00:04:03,100 {\an1}She was killed when the whole partisan group was wiped out. 78 00:04:06,133 --> 00:04:08,976 Except for my poor great-aunt Ester, 79 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,609 {\an1}nobody was killed in a camp. 80 00:04:11,633 --> 00:04:13,576 They were killed in all different ways, 81 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:15,576 {\an1}in all different manners, and I think that already 82 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,309 is being erased, 83 00:04:17,333 --> 00:04:20,866 the particularity of what happened. 84 00:04:25,933 --> 00:04:27,476 {\an1}Woman: Here's the tragedy. 85 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:30,109 Millions of people could not be rescued. 86 00:04:30,133 --> 00:04:31,609 They're in the hands of the Germans. 87 00:04:31,633 --> 00:04:33,276 They're deep into Eastern Europe. 88 00:04:33,300 --> 00:04:36,442 They're in Germany and Austria and France, 89 00:04:36,466 --> 00:04:39,242 Belgium, Netherlands. 90 00:04:39,266 --> 00:04:43,076 But there were people who had gotten to Portugal, 91 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:44,942 {\an1}who had gotten to Spain. 92 00:04:44,966 --> 00:04:48,042 There are people who eventually get to North Africa. 93 00:04:48,066 --> 00:04:51,476 If you had taken more people from those places, 94 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:53,776 {\an7}maybe more refugees could have come in, 95 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,909 {\an7}maybe more people escaping could have come in. 96 00:04:56,933 --> 00:05:00,142 {\an1}Are we talking of rescues of hundreds of thousands? 97 00:05:00,166 --> 00:05:03,142 {\an1}No. But if it's your family, 98 00:05:03,166 --> 00:05:04,809 {\an1}it doesn't matter if it's one. 99 00:05:04,833 --> 00:05:11,600 ♪ 100 00:05:15,533 --> 00:05:19,342 Narrator: Just before the United States entered the Second World War, 101 00:05:19,366 --> 00:05:22,042 Germany had barred the emigration of Jews 102 00:05:22,066 --> 00:05:25,376 from any country it had captured. 103 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,909 {\an1}For them, occupied Europe had now become a prison 104 00:05:28,933 --> 00:05:31,633 to which Adolf Hitler held the key. 105 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,476 {\an1}Americans were still in no mood to welcome immigrants. 106 00:05:38,500 --> 00:05:40,542 The anxiety about alien subversion 107 00:05:40,566 --> 00:05:42,509 {\an1}that preceded Pearl Harbor 108 00:05:42,533 --> 00:05:45,676 {\an1}only intensified afterward. 109 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:49,609 {\an1}FDR declared the West Coast a "military zone" 110 00:05:49,633 --> 00:05:53,842 {\an1}and forced 120,000 persons of Japanese descent 111 00:05:53,866 --> 00:05:57,042 who lived there into internment camps. 112 00:05:57,066 --> 00:06:00,809 {\an1}Most of them were citizens. 113 00:06:00,833 --> 00:06:04,309 {\an1}The Justice Department also interned thousands of 114 00:06:04,333 --> 00:06:09,042 {\an1}so-called "enemy aliens"... German and Italian immigrants 115 00:06:09,066 --> 00:06:11,866 suspected of fascist sentiments. 116 00:06:14,233 --> 00:06:15,842 {\an1}"This war can end in two ways," 117 00:06:15,866 --> 00:06:19,042 {\an1}Hitler insisted in early 1942. 118 00:06:19,066 --> 00:06:22,742 {\an1}"Either the extermination of the Aryan peoples 119 00:06:22,766 --> 00:06:27,242 {\an1}or the disappearance of Jewry from Europe." 120 00:06:27,266 --> 00:06:31,442 Within a few months, the first reports reached the American public 121 00:06:31,466 --> 00:06:34,776 {\an1}that the Nazis had begun systematically murdering 122 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:40,642 {\an1}every Jewish man, woman, and child on the continent. 123 00:06:40,666 --> 00:06:43,742 {\an1}Jewish-Americans and their supporters pleaded that 124 00:06:43,766 --> 00:06:47,409 {\an1}somehow, something be done to stop the killing. 125 00:06:47,433 --> 00:06:50,709 {\an1}But President Roosevelt and his commanders were convinced 126 00:06:50,733 --> 00:06:53,042 {\an1}that only by crushing the Nazis 127 00:06:53,066 --> 00:06:55,942 and winning the war as soon as possible 128 00:06:55,966 --> 00:06:59,542 could the Allies put an end to it. 129 00:06:59,566 --> 00:07:01,409 {\an1}Lipstadt: The mantra was, 130 00:07:01,433 --> 00:07:04,942 {\an1}we'll rescue these people by winning the war. 131 00:07:04,966 --> 00:07:08,442 The problem was, and many people knew this, 132 00:07:08,466 --> 00:07:10,809 and certainly within government circles, 133 00:07:10,833 --> 00:07:13,209 by the time the war would be won, 134 00:07:13,233 --> 00:07:15,309 {\an1}very few of these people would be alive. 135 00:07:15,333 --> 00:07:16,909 [Sizzling] 136 00:07:16,933 --> 00:07:20,909 But the dominant idea in the American government 137 00:07:20,933 --> 00:07:25,109 {\an1}is any act of rescue will be 138 00:07:25,133 --> 00:07:29,242 a diversion from the war effort. 139 00:07:29,266 --> 00:07:32,476 {\an1}Both could've been done at the same time. 140 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:36,233 {\an8}But clearly nobody wanted these people. 141 00:07:37,900 --> 00:07:39,942 {\an1}It's not one of the things that will go down 142 00:07:39,966 --> 00:07:44,309 in the long annals of good things America did. 143 00:07:44,333 --> 00:07:46,276 {\an1}It goes in a different book. 144 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:54,300 ♪ 145 00:08:03,533 --> 00:08:06,442 {\an1}Girl: Writing in a diary is a really strange experience 146 00:08:06,466 --> 00:08:08,376 for someone like me. 147 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,376 {\an1}Not only because I've never written anything before, 148 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,042 but also because it seems to me that 149 00:08:16,066 --> 00:08:19,509 later on neither I nor anyone else 150 00:08:19,533 --> 00:08:21,709 will be interested in the musings of 151 00:08:21,733 --> 00:08:25,542 {\an1}a 13-year-old schoolgirl. 152 00:08:25,566 --> 00:08:27,642 {\an1}Oh, well, it doesn't matter. 153 00:08:27,666 --> 00:08:31,276 I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need 154 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:34,133 {\an1}to get all kinds of things off my chest. 155 00:08:36,233 --> 00:08:38,209 Narrator: In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, 156 00:08:38,233 --> 00:08:40,876 Otto and Edith Frank struggled to provide 157 00:08:40,900 --> 00:08:44,609 {\an1}as normal a life as possible for their family. 158 00:08:44,633 --> 00:08:51,376 June 12, 1942 was their younger daughter Anne's 13th birthday. 159 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,309 {\an1}Among her gifts was a diary 160 00:08:53,333 --> 00:08:55,776 {\an1}that she was soon filling with profiles of 161 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,376 her classmates at the Jewish Lyceum 162 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,742 {\an1}the Germans now required her to attend... 163 00:09:01,766 --> 00:09:04,242 The girls she liked and those she didn't, 164 00:09:04,266 --> 00:09:06,276 {\an1}and the boys she liked 165 00:09:06,300 --> 00:09:08,466 and those who seemed to like her. 166 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,609 {\an1}For the Franks and other Jewish families... 167 00:09:12,633 --> 00:09:15,109 {\an1}including their neighbors, the Geiringers, 168 00:09:15,133 --> 00:09:17,076 {\an1}refugees from Austria... 169 00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:22,000 Life under the Nazis was now anything but normal. 170 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,242 {\an1}Woman: The first few weeks, nothing had much changed. 171 00:09:26,266 --> 00:09:28,109 {\an1}And, so, we thought, "Oh, well, 172 00:09:28,133 --> 00:09:31,709 {\an1}perhaps they don't want to do anything in Holland." 173 00:09:31,733 --> 00:09:37,209 {\an8}The Dutch people were very typical, you know, 174 00:09:37,233 --> 00:09:40,142 {\an7}they said, "You are... you belong to us. 175 00:09:40,166 --> 00:09:41,676 {\an1}"We are going to protect you. 176 00:09:41,700 --> 00:09:43,942 You don't have to worry about anything." 177 00:09:43,966 --> 00:09:46,976 {\an1}But they didn't really count on the measures 178 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,109 {\an1}which the Germans were going to take gradually. 179 00:09:50,133 --> 00:09:53,776 And the first year, it became a nuisance. 180 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,509 It interfered with our way of life, 181 00:09:56,533 --> 00:09:58,776 {\an1}but it was not dangerous. 182 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,609 {\an1}We were not allowed on public transport, for instance. 183 00:10:02,633 --> 00:10:04,233 {\an1}But we all had bicycles. 184 00:10:05,733 --> 00:10:09,009 But then you had to hand in your bicycle. 185 00:10:09,033 --> 00:10:12,976 {\an1}And then we had to wear the yellow star, 186 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,842 {\an1}which means that people walk in the street 187 00:10:16,866 --> 00:10:19,542 {\an1}and are recognizable as Jews. 188 00:10:19,566 --> 00:10:22,542 And that started to become really dangerous 189 00:10:22,566 --> 00:10:26,409 because people just disappeared. 190 00:10:26,433 --> 00:10:27,776 {\an1}I didn't want to wear it. 191 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:28,909 I was stubborn. I said, 192 00:10:28,933 --> 00:10:30,209 {\an1}"Well, I know I'm a Jew, 193 00:10:30,233 --> 00:10:31,942 {\an1}why do I have to wear a star?" 194 00:10:31,966 --> 00:10:35,142 {\an1}But everybody had ID cards. 195 00:10:35,166 --> 00:10:37,176 {\an1}And on Jewish people ID card, 196 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,676 {\an1}it did say you were a Jew, 197 00:10:39,700 --> 00:10:43,276 {\an1}or sometimes there was even a "J" stamped on it. 198 00:10:43,300 --> 00:10:47,842 {\an1}So, if you would have been stopped without wearing a star, 199 00:10:47,866 --> 00:10:49,409 {\an1}and they asked for your papers, 200 00:10:49,433 --> 00:10:52,300 you would have been deported immediately. 201 00:10:55,133 --> 00:10:59,242 Girl as Anne Frank: July 5, 1942. 202 00:10:59,266 --> 00:11:01,076 {\an1}A few days ago, as we were 203 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:05,042 {\an1}taking a stroll around our neighborhood square, 204 00:11:05,066 --> 00:11:09,042 {\an1}Father began to talk about going into hiding. 205 00:11:09,066 --> 00:11:10,842 He sounded so serious 206 00:11:10,866 --> 00:11:13,842 that I felt scared. 207 00:11:13,866 --> 00:11:16,809 "Don't you worry. We'll take care of everything. 208 00:11:16,833 --> 00:11:22,076 {\an1}Just enjoy your carefree life while you can." 209 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:25,642 That was it. Oh, may these somber words 210 00:11:25,666 --> 00:11:28,542 not come true for as long as possible. 211 00:11:28,566 --> 00:11:35,142 ♪ 212 00:11:35,166 --> 00:11:38,376 {\an1}Narrator: The Frank family was in constant danger, 213 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,242 {\an1}and so, they had been slowly moving their belongings 214 00:11:41,266 --> 00:11:45,842 {\an1}to an annex in the warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht 215 00:11:45,866 --> 00:11:49,709 {\an1}in which Otto Frank's business was located. 216 00:11:49,733 --> 00:11:53,842 {\an1}A few trusted Gentile employees had agreed to help the Franks 217 00:11:53,866 --> 00:11:57,409 survive in hiding when the time came. 218 00:11:57,433 --> 00:11:59,876 {\an1}"We'll leave of our own accord 219 00:11:59,900 --> 00:12:02,933 and not wait to be hauled away," Frank said. 220 00:12:04,466 --> 00:12:07,042 But then a registered letter arrived. 221 00:12:07,066 --> 00:12:10,376 Anne's older sister Margot... just 16... 222 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,509 Was to be included in the first group of 223 00:12:12,533 --> 00:12:14,942 {\an1}Jewish refugees in Holland to be sent 224 00:12:14,966 --> 00:12:17,876 {\an1}to work in a German labor camp. 225 00:12:17,900 --> 00:12:21,776 {\an1}The Franks went into hiding the next morning. 226 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:23,576 Since Jews were now forbidden to 227 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,576 ride on streetcars or own bicycles, 228 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,676 {\an1}they were forced to carry their remaining household items 229 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:31,242 through the streets. 230 00:12:31,266 --> 00:12:32,576 {\an1}[Rain falling, thunder] 231 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:33,942 Girl as Anne Frank: So, there we were, 232 00:12:33,966 --> 00:12:36,109 {\an1}walking in the pouring rain, 233 00:12:36,133 --> 00:12:39,042 each of us with a satchel and a shopping bag 234 00:12:39,066 --> 00:12:43,742 {\an1}filled to the brim with the most varied assortments of items. 235 00:12:43,766 --> 00:12:46,476 {\an1}The people on their way to work at that early hour 236 00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:49,476 {\an1}gave us sympathetic looks; 237 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:51,576 {\an1}you could tell by their faces they were sorry 238 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,409 {\an1}they couldn't offer us some kind of transport; 239 00:12:55,433 --> 00:12:59,242 {\an1}the conspicuous yellow star spoke for itself. 240 00:12:59,266 --> 00:13:00,909 [Thunder] 241 00:13:00,933 --> 00:13:03,142 {\an1}Narrator: The two floors that Anne would call 242 00:13:03,166 --> 00:13:06,009 their "Secret Annex" were accessible only by 243 00:13:06,033 --> 00:13:09,309 a single door blocked by a bookcase 244 00:13:09,333 --> 00:13:11,809 {\an1}and cramped even before they were joined by 245 00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:15,366 4 more Jews in need of a hiding place. 246 00:13:17,266 --> 00:13:19,142 The same week the Franks disappeared, 247 00:13:19,166 --> 00:13:21,642 their friends the Geiringers did, too... 248 00:13:21,666 --> 00:13:23,342 {\an1}and for the same reason. 249 00:13:23,366 --> 00:13:25,942 Eva Geiringer's older brother Heinz, 250 00:13:25,966 --> 00:13:28,309 like Margot Frank, had been called up 251 00:13:28,333 --> 00:13:32,476 {\an1}for what the Nazis called "labor service." 252 00:13:32,500 --> 00:13:34,242 {\an1}Geiringer: Heinz was 16, 253 00:13:34,266 --> 00:13:37,076 {\an1}and my father called us together one evening, 254 00:13:37,100 --> 00:13:38,509 and he said, 255 00:13:38,533 --> 00:13:40,409 "We are not going to send Heinz. 256 00:13:40,433 --> 00:13:43,242 It's too dangerous." 257 00:13:43,266 --> 00:13:45,642 {\an1}Narrator: Members of the Dutch Resistance had provided them 258 00:13:45,666 --> 00:13:48,642 with false papers and places to hide. 259 00:13:48,666 --> 00:13:51,876 {\an1}But the constant dread of raids by the Gestapo 260 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,209 forced the Geiringers to temporarily split up. 261 00:13:55,233 --> 00:13:57,509 Eva was to hide with her mother, 262 00:13:57,533 --> 00:14:01,009 {\an1}Heinz with their father. 263 00:14:01,033 --> 00:14:05,042 {\an1}Geiringer: I started to cry. I didn't want to be separated 264 00:14:05,066 --> 00:14:08,876 {\an1}'cause I was very much attached to my brother and father. 265 00:14:08,900 --> 00:14:13,576 {\an1}And my father explained, "If we're in two different places, 266 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:19,176 {\an1}"the chance that two of us will survive is bigger. 267 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:23,676 So, survive." So, that was really, 268 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:26,842 {\an1}you know, the first time that I really realized 269 00:14:26,866 --> 00:14:30,209 it's a matter of life and death. 270 00:14:30,233 --> 00:14:31,542 {\an1}And that's quite scary 271 00:14:31,566 --> 00:14:33,909 {\an1}when you are 13 years old. 272 00:14:33,933 --> 00:14:37,009 {\an1}I said, "What do you mean? Will we be killed?" 273 00:14:37,033 --> 00:14:39,342 [Soldiers marching] 274 00:14:39,366 --> 00:14:44,042 {\an1}About once a week, in the night, there was a knock on the door 275 00:14:44,066 --> 00:14:49,176 {\an1}and people had to open up and let them search their homes. 276 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,342 A story had been going around that 277 00:14:52,366 --> 00:14:55,609 in another house, the beds were still warm. 278 00:14:55,633 --> 00:14:57,076 They felt the beds. 279 00:14:57,100 --> 00:14:58,942 So, they demolished the whole apartment 280 00:14:58,966 --> 00:15:00,709 {\an1}till they found the people. 281 00:15:00,733 --> 00:15:04,909 {\an1}And, of course, hosts were taken away as well. 282 00:15:04,933 --> 00:15:07,676 {\an1}So, of course, when you hear stories like that, 283 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:11,276 {\an1}people said, "You know, we can't take this tension any longer. 284 00:15:11,300 --> 00:15:15,976 You have to move." So, we moved about 7 times, 285 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,142 my mother and me, to different places. 286 00:15:19,166 --> 00:15:22,542 {\an1}My mother, she used to be in Austria as a lamb, 287 00:15:22,566 --> 00:15:27,442 {\an1}but suddenly, she became like a tiger, protecting her children. 288 00:15:27,466 --> 00:15:30,109 {\an1}My father, when we went into hiding, he said, 289 00:15:30,133 --> 00:15:31,809 "Don't worry. It won't be long. 290 00:15:31,833 --> 00:15:35,542 By Christmas, the war will be finished," 291 00:15:35,566 --> 00:15:38,166 end of '42. But, of course, it wasn't. 292 00:15:42,133 --> 00:15:44,742 Girl as Anne Frank: It's the silence that makes me so nervous 293 00:15:44,766 --> 00:15:47,276 {\an1}during the evenings and nights, 294 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:49,776 {\an1}and I'd give anything to have 295 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,842 {\an1}one of our helpers sleep here. 296 00:15:52,866 --> 00:15:56,609 I'm terrified our hiding place will be discovered 297 00:15:56,633 --> 00:15:58,666 {\an1}and that we'll be shot. 298 00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:03,133 That, of course, is a fairly dismal prospect. 299 00:16:11,533 --> 00:16:16,476 {\an1}Lipstadt: The "Chicago Tribune" in late June of '42 300 00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:20,800 {\an1}reports the mass killing of Jews. 301 00:16:22,900 --> 00:16:25,909 {\an1}Like many other newspapers, the "Tribune" 302 00:16:25,933 --> 00:16:31,142 {\an1}puts it on page 6 or 7 in a tiny, little article. 303 00:16:31,166 --> 00:16:33,209 You either missed it, or if you saw it, 304 00:16:33,233 --> 00:16:35,676 {\an7}you would say the editors don't think this is true. 305 00:16:35,700 --> 00:16:37,209 {\an7}If they thought this was true, 306 00:16:37,233 --> 00:16:39,976 {\an8}this would be on the front pages. 307 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,509 {\an1}Narrator: Some papers did put the story on the front page, 308 00:16:43,533 --> 00:16:45,809 including the "Pittsburgh Courier," 309 00:16:45,833 --> 00:16:49,376 an African American newspaper, which said, 310 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,900 {\an1}"the Nazis could teach even southern whites a few lessons." 311 00:16:59,900 --> 00:17:01,376 3 years after their 312 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,076 {\an1}aborted voyage to Cuba 313 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:04,776 {\an1}aboard the "St. Louis," 314 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,142 {\an1}Sol Messinger and his parents 315 00:17:07,166 --> 00:17:11,209 finally made it to America in June of 1942, 316 00:17:11,233 --> 00:17:14,142 {\an1}aboard the "Serpa Pinto," the same ship 317 00:17:14,166 --> 00:17:18,600 {\an1}that had brought Susie and Joe Hilsenrath 10 months earlier. 318 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:23,342 {\an1}Messinger: Our sponsor was a man in Buffalo 319 00:17:23,366 --> 00:17:25,176 {\an1}who had a furniture store. 320 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,842 {\an8}And he was a relative of a relative 321 00:17:27,866 --> 00:17:30,176 {\an7}whom we knew in Berlin. 322 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,109 He was the one who sponsored us. 323 00:17:32,133 --> 00:17:34,409 It was great to be in the United States, 324 00:17:34,433 --> 00:17:38,209 not to be afraid of, you know, policemen. 325 00:17:38,233 --> 00:17:41,842 To be with relatives whom I never knew, 326 00:17:41,866 --> 00:17:44,409 {\an1}but who obviously loved us. 327 00:17:44,433 --> 00:17:49,609 {\an1}And you could feel or see how people 328 00:17:49,633 --> 00:17:52,776 {\an1}were more or less relaxed, you know, 329 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:54,242 they weren't worried about being 330 00:17:54,266 --> 00:17:56,376 {\an1}picked up by the police and so on. 331 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,309 It just was amazing. 332 00:18:00,333 --> 00:18:02,442 {\an1}Narrator: As he settled into life in Buffalo, 333 00:18:02,466 --> 00:18:04,809 {\an1}Sol worried about Leon Silber, 334 00:18:04,833 --> 00:18:07,676 a friend he had made aboard the "St. Louis" 335 00:18:07,700 --> 00:18:10,476 whose family had fled to the same village 336 00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:14,276 he had escaped to in the south of France. 337 00:18:14,300 --> 00:18:17,309 Messinger: 6 weeks after we had left, 338 00:18:17,333 --> 00:18:20,809 his parents must have heard that 339 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:22,942 {\an1}something was about to happen. 340 00:18:22,966 --> 00:18:26,142 {\an1}They went to the teacher and they asked her 341 00:18:26,166 --> 00:18:30,309 {\an1}to hide Leon and she did. 342 00:18:30,333 --> 00:18:32,476 And the next day, the police came 343 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:35,776 {\an1}and they took the parents away. 344 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,976 {\an1}Then the second day that he was hidden in the school, 345 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,642 he decided he wanted to join his parents. 346 00:18:41,666 --> 00:18:44,142 He left the school and went to the police 347 00:18:44,166 --> 00:18:47,309 and said who he was, 348 00:18:47,333 --> 00:18:48,976 and he wanted to join his parents. 349 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,742 And he did. He was killed in Auschwitz. 350 00:18:53,766 --> 00:18:56,200 [Sigh] 351 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,109 He was one of one and a half million kids 352 00:19:01,133 --> 00:19:04,042 {\an1}who were killed by the Germans. 353 00:19:04,066 --> 00:19:06,300 {\an1}Including all my cousins. 354 00:19:16,733 --> 00:19:19,676 {\an1}Narrator: On July 29, 1942... 355 00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:21,742 {\an1}a little over 3 weeks after 356 00:19:21,766 --> 00:19:25,876 {\an1}the Frank and Geiringer families went into hiding in Amsterdam... 357 00:19:25,900 --> 00:19:30,076 {\an1}a well-connected German businessman named Eduard Schulte 358 00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:34,209 {\an1}boarded a train for Zurich in neutral Switzerland. 359 00:19:34,233 --> 00:19:37,433 He had told his staff he would be away on business. 360 00:19:38,633 --> 00:19:41,900 But he had another, secret goal in mind. 361 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,876 From the first, Schulte had seen the Nazis 362 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:47,809 {\an1}as "a band of criminals;" 363 00:19:47,833 --> 00:19:51,176 their war would end only in disaster for Germany, 364 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,576 {\an1}and he had already made this dangerous trip several times 365 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,542 to speak with Polish and Swiss agents 366 00:19:57,566 --> 00:19:59,966 about likely German troop movements. 367 00:20:02,233 --> 00:20:05,942 {\an1}Now he had learned from an employee with Nazi contacts 368 00:20:05,966 --> 00:20:09,209 that 12 days earlier, Heinrich Himmler had made 369 00:20:09,233 --> 00:20:12,076 a formal visit to the concentration camp 370 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:17,009 in occupied Poland now called Auschwitz-Birkenau. 371 00:20:17,033 --> 00:20:19,576 Himmler had spent two days there, 372 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,542 {\an1}had watched the first trainload 373 00:20:21,566 --> 00:20:24,376 of 2,000 Jews from Holland arrive, 374 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,009 {\an1}observed the selection of those deemed fit for labor, 375 00:20:28,033 --> 00:20:32,342 {\an1}and looked on impassively as 447 people 376 00:20:32,366 --> 00:20:35,676 deemed unfit were immediately put to death, 377 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:39,876 {\an1}using a new method of which Rudolf Hoess, the commandant, 378 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:42,142 was especially proud. 379 00:20:42,166 --> 00:20:45,342 Instead of relying on carbon monoxide produced by 380 00:20:45,366 --> 00:20:49,176 {\an1}internal combustion engines that frequently broke down, 381 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,542 the SS at Auschwitz had begun using 382 00:20:51,566 --> 00:20:54,709 {\an1}commercially available pellets of Zyklon, 383 00:20:54,733 --> 00:20:58,709 a powerful vaporizing cyanide-based pesticide 384 00:20:58,733 --> 00:21:01,109 that reduced the cost of killing 385 00:21:01,133 --> 00:21:05,509 {\an1}to roughly one U.S. penny per victim. 386 00:21:05,533 --> 00:21:08,776 {\an1}The same method would be adopted at Majdanek, 387 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:13,642 {\an1}one of the 6 killing centers in occupied Poland. 388 00:21:13,666 --> 00:21:19,109 {\an1}Lipstadt: Gas chambers serve one purpose and one purpose only: 389 00:21:19,133 --> 00:21:21,809 {\an1}to murder as many people as you can 390 00:21:21,833 --> 00:21:25,076 {\an1}as efficiently as you can. 391 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:26,609 Narrator: Himmler was so impressed 392 00:21:26,633 --> 00:21:28,642 he promoted Hoess to Lieutenant Colonel 393 00:21:28,666 --> 00:21:32,376 {\an1}and urged him to enlarge the camp as fast as he could. 394 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,976 {\an1}The "program of extermination will continue," he said, 395 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,942 {\an1}"and will be accelerated every month." 396 00:21:38,966 --> 00:21:40,776 [Train's horn blows] 397 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,209 {\an1}Schulte was determined to get the explosive information 398 00:21:44,233 --> 00:21:47,609 {\an1}to Jewish leaders in Britain and the United States, 399 00:21:47,633 --> 00:21:49,842 {\an1}hoping that they could persuade their governments 400 00:21:49,866 --> 00:21:52,533 {\an1}to do something before it was too late. 401 00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:56,176 In Zurich, Schulte told what he knew 402 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,576 {\an1}to a Jewish banker friend who eventually 403 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,942 {\an1}passed his story on to a 30-year-old representative 404 00:22:01,966 --> 00:22:04,342 {\an1}of the World Jewish Congress, 405 00:22:04,366 --> 00:22:08,176 a refugee named Gerhart Riegner. 406 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,976 Woman: Riegner hears third-hand that the Nazis 407 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,809 have a plan to gather the Jews together 408 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:17,176 {\an1}in the East and murder them before the end of the year. 409 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,909 {\an1}He obsesses over this. This keeps him up at night. 410 00:22:20,933 --> 00:22:23,276 {\an8}And, finally, on August 8th, 1942, 411 00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:27,509 {\an7}he decides that he is going to spread this to the world. 412 00:22:27,533 --> 00:22:30,876 {\an1}He is going to get the Allies to do something about this. 413 00:22:30,900 --> 00:22:33,476 So, he goes to the U.S. Consulate in Geneva 414 00:22:33,500 --> 00:22:37,500 {\an1}and explains what he's learned to the Vice Consul there. 415 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:42,209 Narrator: Riegner was "a serious and balanced individual," 416 00:22:42,233 --> 00:22:45,142 the Vice Consul wrote in his memorandum. 417 00:22:45,166 --> 00:22:49,042 {\an1}But his boss was dismissive and added a covering note 418 00:22:49,066 --> 00:22:51,376 before sending it on to Washington, 419 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,942 warning that Riegner's story had 420 00:22:53,966 --> 00:22:56,600 all the "earmarks of a war rumor." 421 00:22:57,966 --> 00:23:01,509 {\an1}That the Nazis persecuted the Jews was undeniable, 422 00:23:01,533 --> 00:23:03,976 but the notion that the Nazis were now 423 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,376 {\an1}preparing to kill them all was simply impossible 424 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:12,209 {\an1}for many in the State Department to believe. 425 00:23:12,233 --> 00:23:13,942 {\an1}Erbelding: State Department officials decide that 426 00:23:13,966 --> 00:23:15,742 {\an1}this is not good information, 427 00:23:15,766 --> 00:23:18,242 {\an1}and this is crucial, they say, 428 00:23:18,266 --> 00:23:19,809 "Even if this were true, there's 429 00:23:19,833 --> 00:23:22,376 nothing that we could do about it." 430 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:23,809 They believe that they are doing 431 00:23:23,833 --> 00:23:25,642 {\an1}all they can to assist the Jews 432 00:23:25,666 --> 00:23:29,109 and that any sort of rally or petition or protest 433 00:23:29,133 --> 00:23:31,342 {\an1}asking them to do more would be 434 00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:34,309 {\an1}diverting resources from the war effort. 435 00:23:34,333 --> 00:23:35,876 {\an1}Many of these people were also 436 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:37,876 {\an1}racist and antisemitic and nativist. 437 00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:42,742 {\an1}And, so, you have to wonder whether some of their concern, 438 00:23:42,766 --> 00:23:45,242 {\an1}some of their annoyances have to do with the fact 439 00:23:45,266 --> 00:23:47,100 {\an1}that they're being asked to help Jews. 440 00:23:48,433 --> 00:23:50,876 Narrator: But Riegner had also told his story 441 00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:53,042 {\an1}to a British consular official, 442 00:23:53,066 --> 00:23:56,176 {\an1}who passed it on to a Jewish member of Parliament, 443 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,542 who passed it on to Stephen Wise, 444 00:23:58,566 --> 00:24:02,476 the best-known rabbi in the United States. 445 00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,909 Wise took it to Under Secretary of State 446 00:24:04,933 --> 00:24:06,142 Sumner Welles, 447 00:24:06,166 --> 00:24:07,676 {\an1}who asked him to say nothing 448 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:09,209 {\an1}until he could find out 449 00:24:09,233 --> 00:24:12,109 {\an1}how much truth there was in it. 450 00:24:12,133 --> 00:24:13,809 Wise was nearing 70, 451 00:24:13,833 --> 00:24:17,142 {\an1}exhausted from overwork and in declining health. 452 00:24:17,166 --> 00:24:18,942 He told a friend that these were 453 00:24:18,966 --> 00:24:21,376 the unhappiest days of his life. 454 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,142 They have "left me without sleep," he wrote, 455 00:24:24,166 --> 00:24:28,000 {\an1}and "I am almost demented over my people's grief." 456 00:24:29,566 --> 00:24:32,642 {\an1}Over the next two months, reports from the Vatican, 457 00:24:32,666 --> 00:24:36,509 {\an1}the Red Cross, and from other witnesses supplied by Riegner 458 00:24:36,533 --> 00:24:41,509 {\an1}suggested that the horror he described was real. 459 00:24:41,533 --> 00:24:44,276 Welles summoned Wise back to Washington again 460 00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:46,509 and gravely told him that the evidence 461 00:24:46,533 --> 00:24:50,242 {\an1}justified his "worst fears." 462 00:24:50,266 --> 00:24:52,776 Wise called the Associated Press. 463 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,576 {\an1}There could be no doubt now. 464 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,676 Two million Jews were already dead, 465 00:24:56,700 --> 00:25:00,209 {\an1}he told reporters, which would eventually turn out 466 00:25:00,233 --> 00:25:03,342 to have been a gross underestimate... 467 00:25:03,366 --> 00:25:05,642 4 million had already been killed... 468 00:25:05,666 --> 00:25:08,876 {\an1}and the Nazis intended to go on killing Jews 469 00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:11,876 as long as there were Jews to kill. 470 00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:19,900 ♪ 471 00:25:20,633 --> 00:25:22,376 {\an1}The story finally made the front page 472 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,342 of the "New York Herald-Tribune," 473 00:25:24,366 --> 00:25:26,509 where it appeared with another story, 474 00:25:26,533 --> 00:25:30,042 {\an1}credited to the Polish government-in-exile in London, 475 00:25:30,066 --> 00:25:32,976 which described Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto 476 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,109 {\an1}being loaded into freight cars and transported 477 00:25:36,133 --> 00:25:40,209 to Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor, 478 00:25:40,233 --> 00:25:43,600 {\an1}where, it said, they were being "mass-murdered." 479 00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:47,042 {\an1}Erbelding: Riegner's message, when it finally reaches 480 00:25:47,066 --> 00:25:49,076 the American people in November, 1942, 481 00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:52,342 {\an1}is the first information that the American people 482 00:25:52,366 --> 00:25:56,509 {\an1}really have verified that the Nazis have a plan 483 00:25:56,533 --> 00:25:58,900 to murder all of the Jews of Europe. 484 00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:05,042 {\an1}Narrator: The news was widely circulated by the Associated Press, 485 00:26:05,066 --> 00:26:07,276 though its impact was lessened by reports 486 00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:09,442 about the fighting in North Africa, 487 00:26:09,466 --> 00:26:13,109 where American troops had just landed, 488 00:26:13,133 --> 00:26:15,709 and from Stalingrad, where the Soviets 489 00:26:15,733 --> 00:26:18,600 had finally broken the German siege. 490 00:26:20,866 --> 00:26:24,109 {\an1}CBS Radio correspondent Edward R. Murrow, 491 00:26:24,133 --> 00:26:27,542 perhaps the country's most respected reporter, 492 00:26:27,566 --> 00:26:30,842 {\an1}was unsparing in his broadcast. 493 00:26:30,866 --> 00:26:33,309 {\an1}"What is happening is this," he said, 494 00:26:33,333 --> 00:26:36,909 {\an1}"millions of human beings, most of them Jews, 495 00:26:36,933 --> 00:26:40,042 {\an1}"are being gathered up with ruthless efficiency 496 00:26:40,066 --> 00:26:41,733 and murdered." 497 00:26:43,633 --> 00:26:49,576 Jewish organizations worldwide declared December 2, 1942 498 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:50,966 a "Day of Mourning." 499 00:26:53,633 --> 00:26:57,976 {\an1}On December 8th, Stephen Wise and 3 other Jewish leaders 500 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,542 {\an1}met with the president. 501 00:26:59,566 --> 00:27:02,342 "Unless action is taken immediately, 502 00:27:02,366 --> 00:27:06,309 {\an1}the Jews of Europe are doomed," they told him. 503 00:27:06,333 --> 00:27:09,342 {\an1}Roosevelt said he was aware of the Nazi "horrors" 504 00:27:09,366 --> 00:27:11,442 {\an1}but had no remedy at hand. 505 00:27:11,466 --> 00:27:14,209 "We are dealing with an insane man," he said. 506 00:27:14,233 --> 00:27:18,042 {\an1}"Hitler and the group that surrounds him are psychopathic. 507 00:27:18,066 --> 00:27:22,176 {\an1}That is why we cannot act toward them by normal means." 508 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,809 Roosevelt: The first is freedom of speech... 509 00:27:25,833 --> 00:27:28,576 {\an1}Narrator: Even before the United States entered the war, 510 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,509 {\an1}Roosevelt had made one of his over-arching goals 511 00:27:32,533 --> 00:27:34,542 {\an1}the "freedom of every person 512 00:27:34,566 --> 00:27:37,509 {\an1}"to worship God in his own way, 513 00:27:37,533 --> 00:27:39,509 {\an1}everywhere in the world." 514 00:27:39,533 --> 00:27:40,742 {\an1}Roosevelt: in the world. 515 00:27:40,766 --> 00:27:42,176 {\an1}Narrator: And he had repeatedly 516 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:43,876 denounced Nazi crimes 517 00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:45,842 {\an1}and promised that those who committed them 518 00:27:45,866 --> 00:27:49,442 would be punished once victory was won. 519 00:27:49,466 --> 00:27:52,009 {\an1}But he had always been careful to maintain 520 00:27:52,033 --> 00:27:55,509 that Hitler's victims included all sorts of people, 521 00:27:55,533 --> 00:27:58,166 {\an1}not specifically Jews. 522 00:28:00,233 --> 00:28:04,242 {\an1}Erbelding: The War Department does not want American soldiers 523 00:28:04,266 --> 00:28:07,376 {\an1}to even know very much about the persecution of Jews 524 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,742 {\an1}because they feel like the soldiers won't fight hard 525 00:28:10,766 --> 00:28:13,076 {\an8}if they think that they are secretly being sent 526 00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:14,633 {\an8}to save the Jews. 527 00:28:16,666 --> 00:28:19,666 {\an1}And Jewish organizations are obviously very sensitive to this. 528 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,442 {\an1}They don't want to have Americans perceive this 529 00:28:24,466 --> 00:28:26,542 {\an1}as a war for the Jews. 530 00:28:26,566 --> 00:28:27,933 [Explosion] 531 00:28:30,166 --> 00:28:34,076 {\an1}Narrator: Still, 9 days after Roosevelt met with Rabbi Wise, 532 00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:37,542 {\an1}the United States joined in an Allied declaration 533 00:28:37,566 --> 00:28:42,642 {\an1}issued simultaneously in Washington, London, and Moscow. 534 00:28:42,666 --> 00:28:46,209 {\an1}The statement condemned "in the strongest possible terms 535 00:28:46,233 --> 00:28:51,242 {\an1}this bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination," 536 00:28:51,266 --> 00:28:55,109 {\an1}and reaffirmed the Allies' "solemn resolution to ensure 537 00:28:55,133 --> 00:28:57,976 {\an1}"that those responsible for these crimes 538 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,776 {\an1}"shall not escape retribution, 539 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:06,366 {\an1}and to press on with necessary practical measures to this end." 540 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,776 {\an1}But no specific practical measures were recommended 541 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,966 other than victory on the battlefield. 542 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,109 {\an1}Man on newsreel: Through town after Tunisian town, 543 00:29:19,133 --> 00:29:22,042 the 8th army triumphantly marches, pushing the retreating... 544 00:29:22,066 --> 00:29:24,042 Man: What does that declaration say? 545 00:29:24,066 --> 00:29:26,876 {\an1}It says, "We're going to punish the perpetrators. 546 00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:30,109 Full punishment of the perpetrators." 547 00:29:30,133 --> 00:29:34,533 {\an7}We do rally, as a nation, to defeat fascism. 548 00:29:35,966 --> 00:29:37,442 We just don't rally, as a nation, 549 00:29:37,466 --> 00:29:39,809 to rescue the victims of fascism. 550 00:29:39,833 --> 00:29:41,209 Man on newsreel: And now Allied commanders look 551 00:29:41,233 --> 00:29:42,976 eagerly across the Mediterranean 552 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,300 to the shores of Hitler's fortress Europe. 553 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,942 {\an1}Man: Three-quarters of the victims of the Holocaust are dead 554 00:29:49,966 --> 00:29:54,009 {\an1}before any American soldier is in continental Europe. 555 00:29:54,033 --> 00:29:56,676 {\an8}90% of the victims of the Holocaust 556 00:29:56,700 --> 00:30:00,076 {\an7}die in the northeast quadrant of the European continent: 557 00:30:00,100 --> 00:30:03,476 {\an1}Poland, Lithuania, and today, Belarus, Ukraine, 558 00:30:03,500 --> 00:30:05,342 {\an1}but then the Soviet Union. 559 00:30:05,366 --> 00:30:07,242 {\an1}They are all out of reach of 560 00:30:07,266 --> 00:30:10,476 American aircraft in Great Britain. 561 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,276 There is no way American aircraft 562 00:30:12,300 --> 00:30:14,776 could have flown to any of those death camps 563 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:16,776 {\an1}and impeded the killing process 564 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:18,809 while it was at its most intense 565 00:30:18,833 --> 00:30:21,900 {\an1}in 1942 and in January of 1943. 566 00:30:23,533 --> 00:30:25,309 {\an1}I think the only thing they could have done 567 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:28,276 was to publicize what was happening more 568 00:30:28,300 --> 00:30:31,942 and to organize behind the scenes resistance. 569 00:30:31,966 --> 00:30:35,176 {\an1}But they were always inhibited about this because remember, 570 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,009 {\an1}Nazi propaganda was that Roosevelt and Churchill 571 00:30:39,033 --> 00:30:41,276 {\an1}were the tools of the Jews. 572 00:30:41,300 --> 00:30:44,176 {\an1}They were fighting the war for the Jews. 573 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,642 {\an1}And the Nazis used this propaganda to great effect. 574 00:30:47,666 --> 00:30:50,942 {\an1}And anything the Allies did that seemed to be 575 00:30:50,966 --> 00:30:54,309 {\an1}explicitly defending Jews ran the risk of 576 00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:56,833 {\an1}playing into the hands of that propaganda. 577 00:30:59,166 --> 00:31:01,476 Narrator: Despite the front-page coverage, 578 00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:04,509 despite the Allies' declaration, 579 00:31:04,533 --> 00:31:08,742 a Gallup poll taken early in January, 1943 580 00:31:08,766 --> 00:31:11,542 {\an1}showed that fewer than half of its respondents 581 00:31:11,566 --> 00:31:14,376 {\an1}could bring themselves to believe that the Nazis 582 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,909 {\an1}could possibly have killed as many as 583 00:31:16,933 --> 00:31:21,666 two million Jews, let alone 4 million. 584 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:32,209 Woman: Druja, Poland, Tuesday, 4 A.M., June 16, 1942. 585 00:31:32,233 --> 00:31:36,542 {\an1}My dear ones! I am writing this letter before my death, 586 00:31:36,566 --> 00:31:40,276 {\an1}but I don't know the exact day that I and all my relatives 587 00:31:40,300 --> 00:31:43,366 will be killed, just because we are Jews. 588 00:31:45,466 --> 00:31:47,742 We are all hiding in one dugout. 589 00:31:47,766 --> 00:31:49,742 My hand trembles and it's hard for me 590 00:31:49,766 --> 00:31:52,576 to finish writing. 591 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:57,909 Farewell. In the name of everybody: 592 00:31:57,933 --> 00:32:01,542 {\an1}Father, Mother, Sima, Sonia, 593 00:32:01,566 --> 00:32:04,909 {\an1}Zusia, Rasia, Yehezkel. 594 00:32:04,933 --> 00:32:07,742 {\an1}And in the name of Zeldaleh the toddler, 595 00:32:07,766 --> 00:32:10,166 {\an1}who doesn't understand anything yet. 596 00:32:11,566 --> 00:32:12,866 Fanya Barbakow. 597 00:32:17,766 --> 00:32:19,609 {\an1}Man on newsreel: The Volga, where the great counteroffensive 598 00:32:19,633 --> 00:32:23,242 by the Soviet army is commanded by General Zhukov. 599 00:32:23,266 --> 00:32:25,833 {\an1}He directs the strategy of Russian victories. 600 00:32:29,833 --> 00:32:32,442 {\an1}On the Stalingrad front, we see the kind of fighting tactics 601 00:32:32,466 --> 00:32:34,342 {\an1}that first stopped the Germans 602 00:32:34,366 --> 00:32:35,942 {\an1}and now is hurling them back, 603 00:32:35,966 --> 00:32:37,800 {\an1}trapping huge numbers of them. 604 00:32:39,533 --> 00:32:42,276 {\an1}Narrator: In early 1943, the tide of battle 605 00:32:42,300 --> 00:32:44,366 {\an1}turned against the Nazis. 606 00:32:45,533 --> 00:32:47,442 {\an1}At Stalingrad, the Soviets, 607 00:32:47,466 --> 00:32:50,276 armed and supplied with American trucks 608 00:32:50,300 --> 00:32:53,342 {\an1}and tanks and aircraft, 609 00:32:53,366 --> 00:32:56,333 {\an1}had destroyed the entire German 6th Army. 610 00:32:57,966 --> 00:33:00,276 In North Africa, British forces had captured 611 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:04,742 250,000 German and Italian prisoners... 612 00:33:04,766 --> 00:33:08,242 {\an1}and saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews 613 00:33:08,266 --> 00:33:11,466 who had lived or sought sanctuary there. 614 00:33:13,633 --> 00:33:17,676 {\an1}Meanwhile, the pace of the Nazi slaughter of Jews slowed, 615 00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:22,642 {\an1}largely because so few survived to be killed. 616 00:33:22,666 --> 00:33:25,709 Those who did survive were needed for slave labor 617 00:33:25,733 --> 00:33:28,842 or lived mostly in Romania and Hungary, 618 00:33:28,866 --> 00:33:31,209 {\an1}countries that were allied with 619 00:33:31,233 --> 00:33:33,933 but not controlled by the Nazis. 620 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:41,442 {\an1}In America, agitation for action against the killing accelerated. 621 00:33:41,466 --> 00:33:43,809 {\an1}Rabbi Wise and the heads of several other 622 00:33:43,833 --> 00:33:47,009 well-known Jewish organizations continued 623 00:33:47,033 --> 00:33:50,509 to offer advice to the Roosevelt administration, 624 00:33:50,533 --> 00:33:52,342 but that advice had been discussed 625 00:33:52,366 --> 00:33:55,976 and either rejected or ignored before. 626 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,509 {\an1}And they were soon faced with a rival group 627 00:33:58,533 --> 00:34:00,509 {\an1}more militant than theirs. 628 00:34:00,533 --> 00:34:05,442 {\an1}Its name kept changing but its philosophy remained the same. 629 00:34:05,466 --> 00:34:07,676 {\an1}Its founder was Peter Bergson, 630 00:34:07,700 --> 00:34:10,309 {\an1}a recent arrival from Palestine 631 00:34:10,333 --> 00:34:12,076 {\an1}and a member of the Irgun, 632 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:14,509 {\an1}a Zionist paramilitary group, 633 00:34:14,533 --> 00:34:18,909 who would dismiss Rabbi Wise and most of his Jewish allies 634 00:34:18,933 --> 00:34:22,042 {\an1}as timorous "Americans of Hebrew descent," 635 00:34:22,066 --> 00:34:26,742 not authentic members of "the Hebrew Nation." 636 00:34:26,766 --> 00:34:29,509 Rescue now became Bergson's cause. 637 00:34:29,533 --> 00:34:32,242 With help from the screenwriter Ben Hecht, 638 00:34:32,266 --> 00:34:35,809 {\an1}he produced an avalanche of newspaper advertisements 639 00:34:35,833 --> 00:34:38,409 {\an1}charging the administration with ignoring 640 00:34:38,433 --> 00:34:41,242 {\an1}the plight of Europe's Jews. 641 00:34:41,266 --> 00:34:43,300 {\an8}[Men chanting Mourner's Kaddish] 642 00:34:51,733 --> 00:34:56,409 Narrator: On March 9, 1943, he filled Madison Square Garden twice 643 00:34:56,433 --> 00:35:00,909 {\an1}with an elaborate pageant called "We Will Never Die!" 644 00:35:00,933 --> 00:35:04,242 Told largely from the viewpoint of the dead, 645 00:35:04,266 --> 00:35:08,642 {\an1}it featured 200 rabbis and cantors and an all-star cast 646 00:35:08,666 --> 00:35:11,276 that included Edward G. Robinson, 647 00:35:11,300 --> 00:35:13,866 {\an1}John Garfield, and Paul Muni. 648 00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:20,476 {\an8}And this is not a Jewish problem. 649 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:25,509 {\an8}It is a problem that belongs to humanity, 650 00:35:25,533 --> 00:35:30,809 and it is a challenge to the soul of man. 651 00:35:30,833 --> 00:35:33,642 {\an1}Narrator: The show would go on to Boston, Philadelphia, 652 00:35:33,666 --> 00:35:37,809 Washington, Chicago, and the Hollywood Bowl. 653 00:35:37,833 --> 00:35:39,976 {\an1}Its composer, Kurt Weill, 654 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,609 himself a refugee from the Nazis, 655 00:35:42,633 --> 00:35:45,109 was pleased by the big crowds it drew 656 00:35:45,133 --> 00:35:48,442 but felt the pageant didn't achieve much. 657 00:35:48,466 --> 00:35:51,176 "All we have done is make a lot of Jews cry," 658 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,700 {\an1}he said, "which is not a unique accomplishment." 659 00:35:55,866 --> 00:35:57,809 But it did impress the First Lady 660 00:35:57,833 --> 00:36:00,042 {\an1}and scores of congressmen. 661 00:36:00,066 --> 00:36:01,566 [Applause] 662 00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:09,142 While the show was still touring, 663 00:36:09,166 --> 00:36:12,242 word came that some of the 70,000 Jews 664 00:36:12,266 --> 00:36:14,242 still alive in the Warsaw Ghetto 665 00:36:14,266 --> 00:36:16,476 {\an1}had risen up against the Nazis 666 00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:19,400 {\an1}rather than be deported to Treblinka. 667 00:36:21,566 --> 00:36:26,809 {\an1}They had already buried artwork, diaries, poetry, 668 00:36:26,833 --> 00:36:31,166 and final notes in steel milk cans in the ground. 669 00:36:36,866 --> 00:36:39,176 One teenager wrote that he hoped to 670 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:44,409 {\an1}"alert the world to what happened in the 20th century. 671 00:36:44,433 --> 00:36:47,233 {\an1}May history attest for us." 672 00:36:51,900 --> 00:36:55,876 {\an1}The uprising was the largest Jewish rebellion of the war. 673 00:36:55,900 --> 00:36:59,809 {\an1}It would take the Germans more than a month to crush it, 674 00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:05,033 {\an1}level the ghetto, and send the survivors to their deaths. 675 00:37:10,833 --> 00:37:14,609 {\an1}Woman: Freda Kirchwey, "The Nation" Magazine. 676 00:37:14,633 --> 00:37:17,809 {\an1}In this country, you and I and the President 677 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:20,309 and the Congress and the State Department 678 00:37:20,333 --> 00:37:25,742 {\an1}are accessories to the crime and share Hitler's guilt. 679 00:37:25,766 --> 00:37:29,109 {\an1}If we had behaved like humane and generous people 680 00:37:29,133 --> 00:37:33,042 {\an1}instead of complacent, cowardly ones, 681 00:37:33,066 --> 00:37:35,876 the Jews lying today in the earth of Poland 682 00:37:35,900 --> 00:37:38,442 and Hitler's other crowded graveyards 683 00:37:38,466 --> 00:37:42,009 {\an1}would be alive and safe. 684 00:37:42,033 --> 00:37:46,209 {\an1}And other millions yet to die would have found sanctuary. 685 00:37:46,233 --> 00:37:49,109 {\an1}We had it in our power to rescue this doomed people 686 00:37:49,133 --> 00:37:52,642 {\an1}and we did not lift a hand to do it... 687 00:37:52,666 --> 00:37:54,442 {\an1}or perhaps it would be fairer to say that 688 00:37:54,466 --> 00:37:57,276 we lifted just one cautious hand, 689 00:37:57,300 --> 00:38:01,442 {\an1}encased in a tight-fitting glove of quotas and visas 690 00:38:01,466 --> 00:38:06,533 {\an1}and affidavits and a thick layer of prejudice. 691 00:38:08,700 --> 00:38:10,733 {\an1}[Telegraph key tapping] 692 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,142 {\an1}Narrator: Gerhart Riegner... Whose report from Switzerland 693 00:38:16,166 --> 00:38:18,209 had alerted America to the ongoing 694 00:38:18,233 --> 00:38:21,342 {\an1}Nazi policy of extermination... 695 00:38:21,366 --> 00:38:24,400 Sent Washington another desperate message. 696 00:38:25,866 --> 00:38:29,176 {\an1}Tens of thousands of Jews deported by the Nazis 697 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,509 were now trapped in northern Romania 698 00:38:31,533 --> 00:38:33,709 {\an1}without warm clothing. 699 00:38:33,733 --> 00:38:38,009 They had just endured another harsh winter. 700 00:38:38,033 --> 00:38:40,509 With help from the International Red Cross, 701 00:38:40,533 --> 00:38:43,266 {\an1}Riegner thought he could keep them alive. 702 00:38:45,266 --> 00:38:47,742 He also believed he could help Jewish children 703 00:38:47,766 --> 00:38:50,509 {\an1}still hiding in France escape across 704 00:38:50,533 --> 00:38:53,200 {\an1}the Swiss and Spanish borders. 705 00:38:54,833 --> 00:38:56,576 {\an1}Erbelding: Riegner had many connections with 706 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:59,409 {\an1}underground organizations and partisan organizations 707 00:38:59,433 --> 00:39:01,209 {\an1}in these different countries. 708 00:39:01,233 --> 00:39:03,376 And so, his idea was if he could get the money, 709 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:05,709 he could funnel that money into France, 710 00:39:05,733 --> 00:39:09,409 {\an7}into Romania, to people who could buy clothing and food, 711 00:39:09,433 --> 00:39:11,609 {\an8}or who could buy fake documents, 712 00:39:11,633 --> 00:39:14,176 or pay off border guards to allow 713 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:16,442 children to escape over the border. 714 00:39:16,466 --> 00:39:19,909 Narrator: Riegner's organization, the World Jewish Congress, 715 00:39:19,933 --> 00:39:21,542 {\an1}could supply the money, 716 00:39:21,566 --> 00:39:23,742 {\an1}but Riegner would need a special license 717 00:39:23,766 --> 00:39:27,209 {\an1}from the Treasury Department, which routinely prohibited 718 00:39:27,233 --> 00:39:30,009 all "financial or commercial arrangements 719 00:39:30,033 --> 00:39:31,966 {\an1}within enemy territory." 720 00:39:33,133 --> 00:39:37,042 On June 23, 1943, Riegner's request 721 00:39:37,066 --> 00:39:40,742 reached the desk of 34-year-old John Pehle, 722 00:39:40,766 --> 00:39:45,576 {\an1}who ran the Foreign Funds Control department at Treasury. 723 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,309 {\an1}Pehle: The State Department was quite negative. 724 00:39:48,333 --> 00:39:51,576 {\an8}It worried about the possibility of funds 725 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,309 {\an8}falling in the hands of the Germans. 726 00:39:54,333 --> 00:39:56,742 However, we went back and decided that 727 00:39:56,766 --> 00:39:59,809 {\an1}we could put safeguards in the procedures, 728 00:39:59,833 --> 00:40:03,366 {\an1}so that no foreign exchange would come to the Germans. 729 00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:07,576 {\an1}Narrator: Pehle granted the license and sent it along 730 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,709 {\an1}to the State Department for transmission to Switzerland, 731 00:40:10,733 --> 00:40:13,976 {\an1}assuming it would reach Riegner quickly. 732 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,109 But the staff of Assistant Secretary of State 733 00:40:17,133 --> 00:40:20,009 {\an1}Breckinridge Long, who had been adamantly opposed 734 00:40:20,033 --> 00:40:23,042 {\an1}to helping Jewish refugees from the beginning, 735 00:40:23,066 --> 00:40:24,833 quietly shelved it. 736 00:40:27,033 --> 00:40:30,076 By the beginning of September 1943, 737 00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:33,076 {\an1}when American and British troops landed in Italy 738 00:40:33,100 --> 00:40:36,476 {\an1}and finally gained their first foothold in Europe, 739 00:40:36,500 --> 00:40:39,942 {\an1}John Pehle insisted that the United States government 740 00:40:39,966 --> 00:40:42,876 {\an1}should take an active role in trying to rescue 741 00:40:42,900 --> 00:40:45,942 {\an1}Europe's surviving Jews... 742 00:40:45,966 --> 00:40:48,966 And he would do everything he could to help. 743 00:40:50,966 --> 00:40:54,176 {\an1}Erbelding: John Pehle was the child of a German immigrant; 744 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,209 {\an1}his father had come when he was a teenager from Germany, 745 00:40:57,233 --> 00:41:00,876 {\an1}and his mother was the child of Swedish immigrants. 746 00:41:00,900 --> 00:41:02,142 He grew up in Omaha. 747 00:41:02,166 --> 00:41:03,776 {\an1}He went to college there 748 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:05,809 {\an1}and then ended up at Yale. 749 00:41:05,833 --> 00:41:09,776 {\an1}But came from a family that did not always have a lot of money 750 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,709 {\an1}and was an immigrant family. 751 00:41:12,733 --> 00:41:14,042 {\an1}And, so, I think that made him 752 00:41:14,066 --> 00:41:15,476 {\an1}a little more sympathetic 753 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:17,509 {\an1}to the plight of people who 754 00:41:17,533 --> 00:41:20,100 did not come from wealth or privilege. 755 00:41:22,966 --> 00:41:24,942 {\an1}Pehle also thinks that the United States 756 00:41:24,966 --> 00:41:27,476 is a force of good for the world. 757 00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:30,609 And a force of good for mankind. 758 00:41:30,633 --> 00:41:31,942 {\an1}And that comes through 759 00:41:31,966 --> 00:41:33,700 {\an1}a lot of his decisions. 760 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,642 The United States cannot be isolationist, 761 00:41:38,666 --> 00:41:40,342 that we are part of a global community 762 00:41:40,366 --> 00:41:42,809 and that we need to treat everyone 763 00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:45,533 as a fellow citizen of the world. 764 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,009 {\an1}Narrator: On July 28, 1943, 765 00:41:53,033 --> 00:41:55,909 {\an1}the ambassador of the Polish government-in-exile 766 00:41:55,933 --> 00:41:57,876 had brought a man named Jan Karski 767 00:41:57,900 --> 00:42:01,976 {\an1}to the White House for a meeting with President Roosevelt. 768 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,509 {\an1}Karski was a Catholic courier for the Polish underground 769 00:42:05,533 --> 00:42:07,942 who had survived Gestapo torture, 770 00:42:07,966 --> 00:42:10,609 {\an1}managed to smuggle himself in and out of 771 00:42:10,633 --> 00:42:13,642 the Warsaw Ghetto and a transit camp 772 00:42:13,666 --> 00:42:17,542 that exported Jews to the killing center at Belzec. 773 00:42:17,566 --> 00:42:20,142 {\an1}Roosevelt questioned him closely about 774 00:42:20,166 --> 00:42:23,700 the situation in Nazi-occupied Poland. 775 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,342 {\an1}Narrator: Before he left, Karski asked FDR 776 00:42:51,366 --> 00:42:54,609 what message he had for the Polish people. 777 00:42:54,633 --> 00:42:58,576 {\an1}"You will tell them that we will win this war," Roosevelt said. 778 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:02,109 {\an1}"You will tell them that the guilty will be punished. 779 00:43:02,133 --> 00:43:05,276 "Justice and freedom will prevail. 780 00:43:05,300 --> 00:43:07,609 "You will tell your nation that they have 781 00:43:07,633 --> 00:43:11,176 {\an1}a friend in this house." 782 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,342 FDR also tells Karski 783 00:43:13,366 --> 00:43:14,942 {\an1}to meet with Felix Frankfurter, 784 00:43:14,966 --> 00:43:17,809 {\an1}who's on the Supreme Court at the time. 785 00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:20,509 {\an1}Frankfurter is Jewish. Karski tells Frankfurter 786 00:43:20,533 --> 00:43:24,300 {\an1}what he's seen in Warsaw and other parts of Occupied Poland. 787 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:15,809 {\an1}Lipstadt: The Soviets bring a group of reporters to Babi Yar, 788 00:44:15,833 --> 00:44:19,400 {\an1}where there's been one of the early mass killings of Jews. 789 00:44:21,666 --> 00:44:24,309 {\an1}And they're walked through by two people 790 00:44:24,333 --> 00:44:28,000 {\an1}who the Soviets say are survivors of this massacre. 791 00:44:29,166 --> 00:44:31,809 And they walk them through the fields 792 00:44:31,833 --> 00:44:33,976 where these killings have taken place, 793 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:38,609 {\an1}and there are bits of bones and broken eyeglasses and teeth 794 00:44:38,633 --> 00:44:42,366 {\an1}and all sorts of things that... That indicate what has happened. 795 00:44:45,366 --> 00:44:47,376 {\an1}There were American reporters who were present 796 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:49,009 {\an1}in this tour of Babi Yar, 797 00:44:49,033 --> 00:44:52,042 {\an1}and one of them wrote a report 798 00:44:52,066 --> 00:44:55,300 that was so riddled with doubts... 799 00:44:57,033 --> 00:45:01,009 {\an1}so riddled with questions. 800 00:45:01,033 --> 00:45:03,642 If I were a person reading that 801 00:45:03,666 --> 00:45:07,609 {\an1}and I harbored the least bit of skepticism 802 00:45:07,633 --> 00:45:09,876 about the veracity of what was going on, 803 00:45:09,900 --> 00:45:14,709 {\an1}I could dismiss this as war propaganda, as atrocity stories. 804 00:45:14,733 --> 00:45:19,276 {\an1}And atrocity stories are a shorthand for fake news. 805 00:45:19,300 --> 00:45:24,676 {\an1}I'm sitting at home in Chicago, Des Moines, St. Louis, New York, 806 00:45:24,700 --> 00:45:27,576 {\an1}wherever it might be, and I'm reading those kind of reports, 807 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:29,076 I'm saying, "This can't be true. 808 00:45:29,100 --> 00:45:31,466 This can't be true." 809 00:45:35,033 --> 00:45:37,609 Narrator: In early October 1943, 810 00:45:37,633 --> 00:45:42,109 {\an1}Heinrich Himmler addressed a meeting of his SS commanders. 811 00:45:42,133 --> 00:45:47,333 {\an1}By then, more than 4,500,000 Jews had been murdered. 812 00:45:48,933 --> 00:45:50,966 {\an7}[Himmler speaking German] 813 00:46:29,833 --> 00:46:31,509 {\an1}Narrator: Himmler was doing all he could 814 00:46:31,533 --> 00:46:34,776 to keep that chapter from being written. 815 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:37,609 He ordered his men to dismantle and disguise 816 00:46:37,633 --> 00:46:40,776 the sites of the killing centers at Sobibor, 817 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:42,976 {\an1}Belzec, and Treblinka, 818 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:45,809 {\an1}where more than one and a half million human beings 819 00:46:45,833 --> 00:46:48,409 had been killed, and he insisted that 820 00:46:48,433 --> 00:46:51,309 prisoners be forced to dig up the dead, 821 00:46:51,333 --> 00:46:55,642 burn their corpses, and grind their bones to powder. 822 00:46:55,666 --> 00:46:59,809 {\an1}Then he had the prisoners who'd done the ghastly work shot 823 00:46:59,833 --> 00:47:04,976 {\an1}so that no one would ever tell what they had seen or done. 824 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,176 Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front, 825 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:10,909 {\an1}special "Exhumation Squads" were now retreating 826 00:47:10,933 --> 00:47:13,676 {\an1}ahead of the advancing Red Army, 827 00:47:13,700 --> 00:47:15,376 seeing to it that the mass graves 828 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:17,876 of the people whom the Einsatzgruppen 829 00:47:17,900 --> 00:47:19,842 and their accomplices had murdered 830 00:47:19,866 --> 00:47:23,342 back in 1941 and 1942 831 00:47:23,366 --> 00:47:25,166 were emptied as well. 832 00:47:27,300 --> 00:47:30,876 {\an1}But in Nazi-occupied Poland, two killing centers 833 00:47:30,900 --> 00:47:34,009 continued their daily, deadly work... 834 00:47:34,033 --> 00:47:37,209 Majdanek and Auschwitz-Birkenau... 835 00:47:37,233 --> 00:47:39,309 {\an1}while one that had been closed, 836 00:47:39,333 --> 00:47:42,033 {\an1}Chelmno, took it up again. 837 00:47:44,100 --> 00:47:47,876 {\an7}Mendelsohn: Interviewing survivors who could give 838 00:47:47,900 --> 00:47:49,876 {\an7}firsthand accounts, you know, 839 00:47:49,900 --> 00:47:52,742 {\an7}people who were young adults when this happened. 840 00:47:52,766 --> 00:47:56,509 {\an1}You know, you hear things that, 841 00:47:56,533 --> 00:47:58,376 you... you think you've heard it all, 842 00:47:58,400 --> 00:47:59,909 {\an1}and you haven't heard it all. 843 00:47:59,933 --> 00:48:03,109 Trust me. There are... there's no bottom, 844 00:48:03,133 --> 00:48:04,909 {\an1}as one of my survivors said, 845 00:48:04,933 --> 00:48:08,666 {\an1}to the things that people will do to one another. 846 00:48:10,133 --> 00:48:15,509 {\an1}The structures of what we think of as our civilized lives, 847 00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:18,776 {\an1}they fall apart very easily. 848 00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,566 Surprisingly easily. 849 00:48:25,166 --> 00:48:29,409 {\an1}Woman: I left behind me a few photos of my nearest ones 850 00:48:29,433 --> 00:48:32,109 {\an1}in the hope that somebody would find them 851 00:48:32,133 --> 00:48:35,442 {\an1}while digging and searching in the earth, 852 00:48:35,466 --> 00:48:39,709 {\an1}and that this person would be so kind as to transmit them 853 00:48:39,733 --> 00:48:44,776 {\an1}to one of my relatives or friends in America or Palestine, 854 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:47,533 {\an1}if there will still be any of them left. 855 00:48:50,566 --> 00:48:55,533 {\an1}My name is Frieda Niselevitch, born in Vaiguva. 856 00:49:10,033 --> 00:49:12,709 {\an1}Narrator: Two days after Himmler's secret speech 857 00:49:12,733 --> 00:49:14,842 {\an1}and 3 days before Yom Kippur, 858 00:49:14,866 --> 00:49:17,142 {\an1}the Jewish Day of Atonement, 859 00:49:17,166 --> 00:49:22,376 {\an1}Peter Bergson arranged for 400 mostly orthodox rabbis 860 00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:24,376 {\an1}to march to the Capitol. 861 00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:27,476 For fear of encouraging antisemitism, 862 00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:31,009 {\an1}FDR's chief speech writer Sam Rosenman 863 00:49:31,033 --> 00:49:34,309 {\an1}and most of the handful of Jewish members of Congress 864 00:49:34,333 --> 00:49:36,876 {\an1}had opposed their coming. 865 00:49:36,900 --> 00:49:39,842 The rabbis sang the "Star-Spangled Banner," 866 00:49:39,866 --> 00:49:43,676 recited the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, 867 00:49:43,700 --> 00:49:48,476 and met with Vice President Henry A. Wallace. 868 00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:52,442 {\an1}Man: We pray an appeal to the Lord, blessed be he, 869 00:49:52,466 --> 00:49:57,809 {\an7}that our most gracious President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 870 00:49:57,833 --> 00:50:03,376 {\an7}consider and recognize this momentous hour of history 871 00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:07,976 {\an1}and the responsibility which the Divine Presence 872 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,209 has laid upon him, that he may save 873 00:50:11,233 --> 00:50:13,676 {\an1}the remnant of the people of the Book, 874 00:50:13,700 --> 00:50:15,842 the people of Israel. 875 00:50:15,866 --> 00:50:19,709 And we pray that the Lord may aid us 876 00:50:19,733 --> 00:50:22,742 to gain complete and speedy victory 877 00:50:22,766 --> 00:50:27,576 on all fronts against our enemies 878 00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:32,166 {\an1}and that we may be blessed with everlasting peace. 879 00:50:34,200 --> 00:50:36,876 {\an1}Narrator: The president did not see the rabbis. 880 00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:40,509 But they had an impact nonetheless. 881 00:50:40,533 --> 00:50:44,476 {\an1}Several senators and congressmen introduced a resolution 882 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:47,509 {\an1}calling for a new commission tasked with somehow 883 00:50:47,533 --> 00:50:51,333 saving "the surviving Jewish people of Europe." 884 00:50:52,900 --> 00:50:56,342 {\an1}Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long 885 00:50:56,366 --> 00:51:00,842 {\an1}testified against it for 4 hours behind closed doors. 886 00:51:00,866 --> 00:51:03,709 There was no need for such a commission, he said, 887 00:51:03,733 --> 00:51:05,876 {\an1}since the State Department had welcomed 888 00:51:05,900 --> 00:51:12,476 {\an1}580,000 "refugees" to America since 1933. 889 00:51:12,500 --> 00:51:16,576 It was not true. The real refugee number 890 00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:18,166 {\an1}was one-third of that. 891 00:51:19,966 --> 00:51:21,776 {\an1}Lipstadt: Breckinridge Long, in his testimony, 892 00:51:21,800 --> 00:51:26,242 {\an1}clearly misrepresents, some would say lies, 893 00:51:26,266 --> 00:51:27,909 {\an1}but the best you can say is it's 894 00:51:27,933 --> 00:51:32,576 {\an1}a total misrepresentation of America's record. 895 00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:35,276 {\an1}He was crazed about preventing 896 00:51:35,300 --> 00:51:38,133 {\an1}any refugees from coming here. 897 00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,509 {\an1}Narrator: The resolution stalled in the House. 898 00:51:42,533 --> 00:51:45,076 {\an1}And when Long's testimony became public 899 00:51:45,100 --> 00:51:46,876 {\an1}a couple of weeks later, 900 00:51:46,900 --> 00:51:49,442 Brooklyn Congressman Emanuel Celler 901 00:51:49,466 --> 00:51:52,100 called for his immediate resignation. 902 00:51:54,233 --> 00:51:56,376 Man as Celler: The tempest-tossed get little comfort 903 00:51:56,400 --> 00:51:58,676 from men like Breckinridge Long. 904 00:51:58,700 --> 00:52:01,376 If men of his temperament and philosophy 905 00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:04,809 {\an1}continue in control of immigration administration, 906 00:52:04,833 --> 00:52:07,076 we may as well take down that plaque 907 00:52:07,100 --> 00:52:09,809 from the Statue of Liberty and black out 908 00:52:09,833 --> 00:52:12,700 the "lamp beside the golden door." 909 00:52:15,233 --> 00:52:17,309 {\an1}Narrator: At the end of 1943, 910 00:52:17,333 --> 00:52:19,676 Gerhart Riegner was still waiting for 911 00:52:19,700 --> 00:52:22,309 the all-important license he needed 912 00:52:22,333 --> 00:52:25,109 to help Jews in Romania and France, 913 00:52:25,133 --> 00:52:29,476 {\an1}which John Pehle had approved 5 months earlier. 914 00:52:29,500 --> 00:52:33,309 {\an1}Breckinridge Long and his staff continued to stall, 915 00:52:33,333 --> 00:52:37,042 {\an1}raising every possible potential barrier, 916 00:52:37,066 --> 00:52:38,809 even though the president himself 917 00:52:38,833 --> 00:52:41,300 {\an1}was on record favoring it. 918 00:52:42,666 --> 00:52:44,809 {\an1}Pehle: The people who were handling visa matters, 919 00:52:44,833 --> 00:52:46,642 and the policy of the State Department, 920 00:52:46,666 --> 00:52:49,742 seemed to be such that instead of 921 00:52:49,766 --> 00:52:52,776 {\an7}facilitating the entry of refugees, 922 00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:55,576 {\an7}obstructions were thrown in the way. 923 00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:57,033 {\an7}It's as simple as that. 924 00:52:58,333 --> 00:53:01,409 {\an1}Narrator: Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. 925 00:53:01,433 --> 00:53:04,876 Was the president's close friend and upstate neighbor, 926 00:53:04,900 --> 00:53:08,376 as well as the only Jewish member of his cabinet. 927 00:53:08,400 --> 00:53:11,509 {\an1}All through the Hitler years, he had been careful 928 00:53:11,533 --> 00:53:13,009 {\an1}never to seem to be seeking 929 00:53:13,033 --> 00:53:16,176 special treatment for his fellow Jews. 930 00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:18,542 {\an1}But this was too much. 931 00:53:18,566 --> 00:53:23,009 He confronted Long and the Secretary of State Cordell Hull. 932 00:53:23,033 --> 00:53:26,376 {\an1}The license was finally issued, 933 00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:27,909 but in the course of investigating 934 00:53:27,933 --> 00:53:30,176 the reason for the lengthy delay, 935 00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:33,576 {\an1}Morgenthau's staff discovered that the State Department 936 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:35,876 had deliberately suppressed Riegner's 937 00:53:35,900 --> 00:53:41,876 {\an1}reports from Switzerland about the extermination of the Jews. 938 00:53:41,900 --> 00:53:43,676 {\an1}Pehle: People in the State Department were saying, 939 00:53:43,700 --> 00:53:46,276 "Don't send any more messages over 940 00:53:46,300 --> 00:53:48,776 {\an1}about what's happening to the Jews." 941 00:53:48,800 --> 00:53:50,642 {\an1}Erbelding: The State Department has been 942 00:53:50,666 --> 00:53:52,209 {\an1}deliberately obstructionist, 943 00:53:52,233 --> 00:53:53,876 they have been delaying relief money 944 00:53:53,900 --> 00:53:56,542 that could go to Jews in occupied Europe, 945 00:53:56,566 --> 00:53:59,709 {\an1}and lying about it, so that people would stop rallying, 946 00:53:59,733 --> 00:54:01,542 {\an1}they'd stop protesting, and they'd stop 947 00:54:01,566 --> 00:54:04,576 asking the government to do more. 948 00:54:04,600 --> 00:54:09,309 {\an1}Narrator: Morgenthau's outraged aides wrote an internal report 949 00:54:09,333 --> 00:54:14,442 {\an1}setting forth the evidence of the State Department's deceit. 950 00:54:14,466 --> 00:54:17,309 Man: It appears that certain responsible officials 951 00:54:17,333 --> 00:54:19,776 of this government were so fearful that 952 00:54:19,800 --> 00:54:23,509 {\an1}this government might act to save the Jews of Europe 953 00:54:23,533 --> 00:54:26,009 if the gruesome facts relating to Hitler's plans 954 00:54:26,033 --> 00:54:28,642 to exterminate them became known, 955 00:54:28,666 --> 00:54:33,276 that they attempted to suppress the facts. 956 00:54:33,300 --> 00:54:36,509 We leave it for your judgment whether this action 957 00:54:36,533 --> 00:54:40,542 made such officials the accomplices of Hitler in this program 958 00:54:40,566 --> 00:54:43,109 and whether or not these officials are not 959 00:54:43,133 --> 00:54:46,666 {\an1}war criminals in every sense of the term. 960 00:54:48,633 --> 00:54:50,909 {\an1}Narrator: Treasury staff titled the document 961 00:54:50,933 --> 00:54:53,776 {\an1}"Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence 962 00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:57,876 of this Government in the Murder of the Jews"... 963 00:54:57,900 --> 00:55:00,276 {\an1}but Morgenthau, who understood 964 00:55:00,300 --> 00:55:02,342 {\an1}his boss better than most, 965 00:55:02,366 --> 00:55:04,809 toned down the accusatory rhetoric 966 00:55:04,833 --> 00:55:06,609 and renamed it simply 967 00:55:06,633 --> 00:55:09,533 "Personal Report to the President." 968 00:55:11,066 --> 00:55:13,809 {\an1}Morgenthau's own father, who had been the ambassador 969 00:55:13,833 --> 00:55:16,142 to what was then the Ottoman Empire 970 00:55:16,166 --> 00:55:19,676 {\an1}between 1915 and 1916, 971 00:55:19,700 --> 00:55:22,842 {\an1}had tried unsuccessfully to persuade 972 00:55:22,866 --> 00:55:24,709 {\an1}President Woodrow Wilson 973 00:55:24,733 --> 00:55:27,542 {\an1}to intervene on behalf of hundreds of thousands of 974 00:55:27,566 --> 00:55:29,742 Armenian civilians who were being 975 00:55:29,766 --> 00:55:34,442 {\an1}systematically massacred by Ottoman troops. 976 00:55:34,466 --> 00:55:36,966 {\an1}He had called it "race murder." 977 00:55:39,200 --> 00:55:41,709 Erbelding: Henry, Jr. Went to Turkey, 978 00:55:41,733 --> 00:55:43,909 {\an1}went to Constantinople, now Istanbul, 979 00:55:43,933 --> 00:55:48,309 {\an1}to see his father as all of these events were unfolding. 980 00:55:48,333 --> 00:55:50,676 He points to that directly to Roosevelt. 981 00:55:50,700 --> 00:55:52,676 {\an1}He says, "You remember what my father saw. 982 00:55:52,700 --> 00:55:54,809 "You remember what I saw in Armenia. 983 00:55:54,833 --> 00:55:56,733 We can't let this happen again." 984 00:55:57,900 --> 00:55:59,776 To be the Secretary of the Treasury 985 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:02,209 {\an1}and to be in a position to actually point his friend 986 00:56:02,233 --> 00:56:04,576 {\an1}to the past and to say, 987 00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:07,742 {\an1}"We have the chance to do it better this time." 988 00:56:07,766 --> 00:56:10,509 {\an1}Narrator: After a meeting with Morgenthau and Pehle, 989 00:56:10,533 --> 00:56:16,676 {\an1}Roosevelt issued an executive order on January 22nd, 1944, 990 00:56:16,700 --> 00:56:19,642 establishing the War Refugee Board... 991 00:56:19,666 --> 00:56:24,042 {\an1}the only government agency created by any of the Allies 992 00:56:24,066 --> 00:56:26,209 specifically to do what it could 993 00:56:26,233 --> 00:56:30,776 {\an1}for the Jews still under Nazi threat. 994 00:56:30,800 --> 00:56:32,942 {\an1}Treasury was in charge 995 00:56:32,966 --> 00:56:35,109 and John Pehle was made director, 996 00:56:35,133 --> 00:56:37,609 determined to perform what he called 997 00:56:37,633 --> 00:56:41,342 {\an1}"a simple life-saving job." 998 00:56:41,366 --> 00:56:42,876 {\an1}Pehle: The most important thing 999 00:56:42,900 --> 00:56:44,109 {\an1}about the War Refugee Board 1000 00:56:44,133 --> 00:56:46,776 {\an1}was that it dramatically changed 1001 00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:51,342 the policy of the United States overnight. 1002 00:56:51,366 --> 00:56:54,809 {\an1}Erbelding: 5 million Jews have already been killed in Europe. 1003 00:56:54,833 --> 00:56:57,076 {\an1}But there are millions who are still there, 1004 00:56:57,100 --> 00:57:00,042 who are in hiding, who are in concentration camps, 1005 00:57:00,066 --> 00:57:03,109 {\an1}who are still, they think, in relative safety, 1006 00:57:03,133 --> 00:57:08,076 {\an1}who could get out, could be rescued, could cross borders, 1007 00:57:08,100 --> 00:57:12,842 could be kept alive long enough to be liberated. 1008 00:57:12,866 --> 00:57:14,609 {\an1}Narrator: The work undertaken by the Board's 1009 00:57:14,633 --> 00:57:16,342 {\an1}representatives in Europe 1010 00:57:16,366 --> 00:57:19,909 was improvisational and clandestine. 1011 00:57:19,933 --> 00:57:24,142 Official U.S. policy forbade paying bribes. 1012 00:57:24,166 --> 00:57:28,609 Pehle's men paid little attention. 1013 00:57:28,633 --> 00:57:30,442 {\an1}Erbelding: The first thing that the War Refugee Board 1014 00:57:30,466 --> 00:57:31,809 {\an1}does once it's created is to 1015 00:57:31,833 --> 00:57:33,776 {\an1}streamline the license process, 1016 00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:36,276 meaning humanitarian aid organizations 1017 00:57:36,300 --> 00:57:40,009 {\an1}can send money into Europe much easier. 1018 00:57:40,033 --> 00:57:41,876 {\an1}By the end of the war, the War Refugee Board 1019 00:57:41,900 --> 00:57:44,809 {\an1}has approved about $11 million in humanitarian aid 1020 00:57:44,833 --> 00:57:46,642 {\an1}to go into Nazi Europe. 1021 00:57:46,666 --> 00:57:49,142 {\an1}That money was used to buy guns for the underground; 1022 00:57:49,166 --> 00:57:51,400 {\an1}it was used to pay off border guards. 1023 00:57:53,366 --> 00:57:55,176 {\an1}The plight of Jews varied, 1024 00:57:55,200 --> 00:57:56,976 {\an1}depending on where you were in Europe. 1025 00:57:57,000 --> 00:57:58,576 {\an1}If you were in France, you might be able to escape 1026 00:57:58,600 --> 00:58:01,742 {\an1}to the border in Spain or Switzerland. 1027 00:58:01,766 --> 00:58:03,542 {\an1}And, so, the United States puts pressure on 1028 00:58:03,566 --> 00:58:07,376 {\an1}border guards in Spain and Switzerland. 1029 00:58:07,400 --> 00:58:09,309 If you were in Romania or Bulgaria, 1030 00:58:09,333 --> 00:58:11,009 you might be able to board a ship 1031 00:58:11,033 --> 00:58:14,076 {\an1}and make it to Turkey, and then by train to Palestine. 1032 00:58:14,100 --> 00:58:16,376 {\an1}So, the War Refugee Board works with governments 1033 00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,809 {\an1}to make that process easier. 1034 00:58:19,833 --> 00:58:22,076 {\an1}And if you're in Poland, you may need 1035 00:58:22,100 --> 00:58:24,076 {\an1}food packages or documents 1036 00:58:24,100 --> 00:58:25,776 {\an1}that would allow you to hide, 1037 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:28,376 {\an1}so, the War Refugee Board tries to help with that. 1038 00:58:28,400 --> 00:58:31,409 {\an1}And, so, they had a whole host of different plans 1039 00:58:31,433 --> 00:58:34,542 that had real impact on the lives of the people 1040 00:58:34,566 --> 00:58:36,733 {\an1}who managed to survive. 1041 00:58:39,733 --> 00:58:41,709 {\an1}Narrator: Much of the Board's most effective work 1042 00:58:41,733 --> 00:58:45,609 {\an1}was focused on Hungary, which in early 1944 1043 00:58:45,633 --> 00:58:49,276 was still home to some 800,000 Jews, 1044 00:58:49,300 --> 00:58:52,942 the largest remaining population in Europe. 1045 00:58:52,966 --> 00:58:55,609 Its Regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy, 1046 00:58:55,633 --> 00:58:58,676 had been a Nazi ally since 1941, 1047 00:58:58,700 --> 00:59:00,976 {\an1}when his troops joined the German invasion 1048 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:03,442 of the Soviet Union. 1049 00:59:03,466 --> 00:59:05,876 [Gunfire, explosions] 1050 00:59:05,900 --> 00:59:07,376 {\an1}But most of the Hungarian army 1051 00:59:07,400 --> 00:59:11,076 had been destroyed at Stalingrad. 1052 00:59:11,100 --> 00:59:13,942 Because Nazi defeat now seemed inevitable, 1053 00:59:13,966 --> 00:59:16,442 Horthy began secretly exploring whether 1054 00:59:16,466 --> 00:59:20,000 a separate peace with the Allies might be possible. 1055 00:59:21,300 --> 00:59:22,876 {\an1}When Hitler got word of it, 1056 00:59:22,900 --> 00:59:25,276 he sent in troops to occupy the country 1057 00:59:25,300 --> 00:59:28,076 and insisted that Horthy cooperate in 1058 00:59:28,100 --> 00:59:31,966 ridding Hungary of its Jewish population. 1059 00:59:34,633 --> 00:59:41,542 {\an1}Between May and July 1944, some 440,000 Hungarian Jews 1060 00:59:41,566 --> 00:59:44,200 would be rounded up and deported. 1061 00:59:45,800 --> 00:59:51,109 {\an1}338,000 of them were killed immediately at Auschwitz... 1062 00:59:51,133 --> 00:59:54,442 {\an1}so many that the 4 crematoria were not enough 1063 00:59:54,466 --> 00:59:58,142 {\an1}and fire pits had to be dug and constantly tended 1064 00:59:58,166 --> 01:00:00,700 {\an1}to dispose of all the corpses. 1065 01:00:02,533 --> 01:00:05,276 Members of the Polish underground managed to smuggle 1066 01:00:05,300 --> 01:00:09,476 {\an1}a camera into Auschwitz so that 5 courageous inmates 1067 01:00:09,500 --> 01:00:11,442 could document what was happening to 1068 01:00:11,466 --> 01:00:14,709 the Hungarians and other prisoners. 1069 01:00:14,733 --> 01:00:16,942 {\an1}[Camera's shutter clicks] While 4 men kept watch, 1070 01:00:16,966 --> 01:00:20,142 {\an1}a fifth snapped 4 pictures from the hip, 1071 01:00:20,166 --> 01:00:23,242 not daring to take the time to focus. [Camera's shutter clicks] 1072 01:00:23,266 --> 01:00:25,376 The film was smuggled out of the camp 1073 01:00:25,400 --> 01:00:28,942 {\an1}inside a tube of toothpaste. [Camera's shutter clicks] 1074 01:00:28,966 --> 01:00:30,776 They remain the only photographs 1075 01:00:30,800 --> 01:00:33,642 {\an1}of the killing process at Auschwitz. 1076 01:00:33,666 --> 01:00:36,033 {\an1}[Camera's shutter clicks] 1077 01:00:38,966 --> 01:00:41,809 {\an1}Meanwhile, in Hungary, the War Refugee Board 1078 01:00:41,833 --> 01:00:44,942 {\an1}helped orchestrate a massive international series of 1079 01:00:44,966 --> 01:00:49,442 {\an1}threats and condemnations aimed at persuading Horthy 1080 01:00:49,466 --> 01:00:51,866 to stop cooperating in the killing. 1081 01:00:53,033 --> 01:00:55,476 {\an1}Then, on July 2nd, U.S. bombers 1082 01:00:55,500 --> 01:00:59,242 hit oil refineries on the outskirts of Budapest 1083 01:00:59,266 --> 01:01:01,409 and dropped leaflets on the city 1084 01:01:01,433 --> 01:01:04,233 promising punishment for perpetrators. 1085 01:01:05,633 --> 01:01:09,733 {\an1}5 days later, Horthy called a halt to the deportations. 1086 01:01:12,033 --> 01:01:15,176 {\an1}Hungary's provinces had been emptied of Jews, 1087 01:01:15,200 --> 01:01:20,809 {\an1}but some 230,000 still survived in Budapest itself, 1088 01:01:20,833 --> 01:01:23,776 {\an1}subject to persecution, fearful that 1089 01:01:23,800 --> 01:01:26,933 the transports might resume at any time. 1090 01:01:28,666 --> 01:01:31,242 {\an1}To protect them... and to glean firsthand accounts 1091 01:01:31,266 --> 01:01:33,242 of what was happening in Hungary... 1092 01:01:33,266 --> 01:01:36,876 The War Refugee Board called upon neutral nations, 1093 01:01:36,900 --> 01:01:40,176 {\an1}including Switzerland, Portugal, and Sweden, 1094 01:01:40,200 --> 01:01:44,576 {\an1}to expand their diplomatic presence in the country. 1095 01:01:44,600 --> 01:01:48,009 {\an1}Their diplomats in Budapest began issuing so-called 1096 01:01:48,033 --> 01:01:51,476 {\an1}"protective documents" to desperate Jews... 1097 01:01:51,500 --> 01:01:55,509 Sheets of paper emblazoned with coats of arms 1098 01:01:55,533 --> 01:01:57,876 and peppered with official-looking stamps, 1099 01:01:57,900 --> 01:02:02,109 {\an1}intended to persuade Hungarian police and German officials 1100 01:02:02,133 --> 01:02:06,709 {\an1}that the bearer was under international protection. 1101 01:02:06,733 --> 01:02:09,242 {\an1}Man: It's no coincidence that the War Refugee Board 1102 01:02:09,266 --> 01:02:11,842 ends up making a difference in Hungary 1103 01:02:11,866 --> 01:02:13,942 {\an8}because that's a... That's a country 1104 01:02:13,966 --> 01:02:16,676 {\an7}which is a sovereign state, which still has diplomats, 1105 01:02:16,700 --> 01:02:18,742 {\an8}where a diplomat can be sent in, 1106 01:02:18,766 --> 01:02:20,409 {\an1}with briefcases full of money, 1107 01:02:20,433 --> 01:02:23,566 and issue documents and make a difference. 1108 01:02:25,400 --> 01:02:29,009 {\an1}Narrator: On July 9th, a 31-year-old Swedish businessman 1109 01:02:29,033 --> 01:02:32,076 {\an1}named Raoul Wallenberg arrived in Budapest 1110 01:02:32,100 --> 01:02:34,309 {\an1}to accelerate that process. 1111 01:02:34,333 --> 01:02:36,909 {\an1}Appointed a Swedish attache 1112 01:02:36,933 --> 01:02:39,242 but recruited and partially financed 1113 01:02:39,266 --> 01:02:41,242 {\an1}by the War Refugee Board, 1114 01:02:41,266 --> 01:02:43,909 he saw his mission as carrying out 1115 01:02:43,933 --> 01:02:46,776 {\an1}an "American program." 1116 01:02:46,800 --> 01:02:50,642 {\an1}He established hospitals, nurseries, and a soup kitchen, 1117 01:02:50,666 --> 01:02:53,242 issued thousands of protective papers, 1118 01:02:53,266 --> 01:02:56,042 {\an1}and rented 32 "safe-houses" 1119 01:02:56,066 --> 01:02:59,476 {\an1}for those who carried them. 1120 01:02:59,500 --> 01:03:01,776 Diplomats from other neutral countries 1121 01:03:01,800 --> 01:03:05,076 also participated in rescue operations, 1122 01:03:05,100 --> 01:03:09,466 {\an1}most notably the Swiss vice-consul Carl Lutz. 1123 01:03:11,366 --> 01:03:14,776 {\an1}Soon, some 37,000 Jews were living under 1124 01:03:14,800 --> 01:03:17,109 {\an1}Swedish and Swiss protection 1125 01:03:17,133 --> 01:03:20,666 in what was called the "international ghetto." 1126 01:03:24,200 --> 01:03:26,309 When Hitler replaced the Horthy government 1127 01:03:26,333 --> 01:03:28,109 {\an1}with more ardent fascists, 1128 01:03:28,133 --> 01:03:31,309 who resumed the deportation of Jews, 1129 01:03:31,333 --> 01:03:34,476 Wallenberg intervened as often as he could 1130 01:03:34,500 --> 01:03:35,876 to win the release of those with 1131 01:03:35,900 --> 01:03:38,633 {\an1}protective or forged papers. 1132 01:03:41,333 --> 01:03:45,276 Of the nearly 150,000 Jews in Budapest 1133 01:03:45,300 --> 01:03:47,042 {\an1}who would survive the war, 1134 01:03:47,066 --> 01:03:49,876 some 120,000 are thought to have 1135 01:03:49,900 --> 01:03:52,642 owed their lives to Raoul Wallenberg 1136 01:03:52,666 --> 01:03:55,966 {\an1}and his fellow diplomats from neutral nations. 1137 01:03:57,800 --> 01:03:59,309 {\an1}It is impossible to tally 1138 01:03:59,333 --> 01:04:01,642 {\an1}how many tens of thousands of lives 1139 01:04:01,666 --> 01:04:04,076 {\an1}the War Refugee Board saved, 1140 01:04:04,100 --> 01:04:06,900 {\an1}directly or indirectly. 1141 01:04:08,533 --> 01:04:10,042 {\an1}Erbelding: These were Americans 1142 01:04:10,066 --> 01:04:14,276 who were really trying to do good. 1143 01:04:14,300 --> 01:04:16,409 {\an8}And we have forgotten them, in part, 1144 01:04:16,433 --> 01:04:19,176 {\an7}because we have this longer narrative and trajectory 1145 01:04:19,200 --> 01:04:22,309 {\an7}in our memory of the United States not doing enough, 1146 01:04:22,333 --> 01:04:24,242 being indifferent, being deceitful, 1147 01:04:24,266 --> 01:04:26,609 {\an1}not trying to save people. 1148 01:04:26,633 --> 01:04:28,876 {\an1}There is a group of people in the U.S. government 1149 01:04:28,900 --> 01:04:33,042 {\an1}who were trying and who saved tens of thousands of lives 1150 01:04:33,066 --> 01:04:36,376 {\an1}by the end of World War II. 1151 01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:38,833 {\an1}That is not insignificant. 1152 01:04:41,966 --> 01:04:43,866 [Static] 1153 01:04:45,233 --> 01:04:47,709 Man on radio: This is the BBC Home service. 1154 01:04:47,733 --> 01:04:50,242 {\an1}Communique number one, issued by 1155 01:04:50,266 --> 01:04:53,709 supreme headquarters allied expeditionary force. 1156 01:04:53,733 --> 01:04:55,409 [Static] 1157 01:04:55,433 --> 01:04:57,942 Dwight D. Eisenhower: People of Western Europe, 1158 01:04:57,966 --> 01:04:59,442 {\an1}a landing was made this morning 1159 01:04:59,466 --> 01:05:01,376 {\an1}on the coast of France by troops of 1160 01:05:01,400 --> 01:05:03,666 {\an1}the allied expeditionary force. 1161 01:05:08,633 --> 01:05:12,109 {\an1}This landing is part of the concerted United Nations plan 1162 01:05:12,133 --> 01:05:13,666 {\an1}for the liberation of Europe... 1163 01:05:16,133 --> 01:05:18,966 {\an1}made in conjunction with our great Russian allies. 1164 01:05:20,433 --> 01:05:22,166 I have this message for all of you. 1165 01:05:24,466 --> 01:05:26,109 [Gunfire] 1166 01:05:26,133 --> 01:05:27,942 {\an1}Although the initial assault may not have been 1167 01:05:27,966 --> 01:05:30,042 {\an1}made in your own country, 1168 01:05:30,066 --> 01:05:32,700 {\an1}the hour of your liberation is approaching. 1169 01:05:36,500 --> 01:05:38,442 Man: This concludes the broadcast from 1170 01:05:38,466 --> 01:05:40,342 supreme headquarters allied... 1171 01:05:40,366 --> 01:05:45,009 Girl as Anne Frank: Tuesday, 6 June, 1944. 1172 01:05:45,033 --> 01:05:49,176 "This is D-Day," the BBC announced at 12. 1173 01:05:49,200 --> 01:05:53,200 "This is the day." The invasion has begun! 1174 01:05:54,600 --> 01:05:56,442 The best part about the invasion is that 1175 01:05:56,466 --> 01:06:00,109 {\an1}I have the feeling that friends are on their way. 1176 01:06:00,133 --> 01:06:03,509 {\an1}Those awful Germans have oppressed and threatened us 1177 01:06:03,533 --> 01:06:07,176 {\an1}for so long that the thought of friends and salvation 1178 01:06:07,200 --> 01:06:09,100 {\an1}means everything to us! 1179 01:06:14,633 --> 01:06:17,809 {\an1}Narrator: Within 24 hours, the Allies had torn 1180 01:06:17,833 --> 01:06:22,700 {\an1}a 45-mile gap in Hitler's Atlantic Wall in Normandy. 1181 01:06:24,733 --> 01:06:29,709 {\an1}More than 150,000 men were already ashore in France, 1182 01:06:29,733 --> 01:06:32,809 {\an1}and more men and more equipment and supplies 1183 01:06:32,833 --> 01:06:36,642 {\an1}were coming ashore every day. 1184 01:06:36,666 --> 01:06:40,476 {\an1}Stern: And then I was suddenly on French soil. 1185 01:06:40,500 --> 01:06:45,876 {\an7}And a voice from a few hundred yards away, 1186 01:06:45,900 --> 01:06:48,509 {\an8}one of my buddies, was shouting, 1187 01:06:48,533 --> 01:06:50,909 {\an1}"Stern, get the hell over here. 1188 01:06:50,933 --> 01:06:52,676 {\an1}"We've got too many prisoners 1189 01:06:52,700 --> 01:06:55,342 {\an1}and we've got to have you." 1190 01:06:55,366 --> 01:06:58,009 {\an1}Narrator: Guy Stern, now a staff sergeant, 1191 01:06:58,033 --> 01:07:00,876 came ashore on D-Day plus three. 1192 01:07:00,900 --> 01:07:03,942 {\an1}He was part of a special Army intelligence unit 1193 01:07:03,966 --> 01:07:07,376 {\an1}that included many Jewish refugees trained 1194 01:07:07,400 --> 01:07:11,409 {\an1}to interrogate enemy soldiers as they surrendered. 1195 01:07:11,433 --> 01:07:14,876 Stern: My own personal incentive was 1196 01:07:14,900 --> 01:07:17,242 {\an1}if I help shorten the war, 1197 01:07:17,266 --> 01:07:21,042 let's say by an hour, I have a chance. 1198 01:07:21,066 --> 01:07:25,342 If my family somehow escaped 1199 01:07:25,366 --> 01:07:28,576 the same perils as the others, 1200 01:07:28,600 --> 01:07:32,609 {\an1}I would be there still in the nick of time 1201 01:07:32,633 --> 01:07:35,909 to be their savior. 1202 01:07:35,933 --> 01:07:39,042 [Rumbling] 1203 01:07:39,066 --> 01:07:40,776 {\an1}Narrator: Over the next 3 months, 1204 01:07:40,800 --> 01:07:43,276 {\an1}nearly 50,000 Americans 1205 01:07:43,300 --> 01:07:45,542 {\an1}would die in the struggle to liberate 1206 01:07:45,566 --> 01:07:48,609 Western Europe from the Nazis. 1207 01:07:48,633 --> 01:07:50,476 [Explosion] 1208 01:07:50,500 --> 01:07:53,276 As the Allies fought their way inland, 1209 01:07:53,300 --> 01:07:55,309 {\an1}Guy Stern and his comrades 1210 01:07:55,333 --> 01:07:57,942 {\an1}would cross-examine hundreds of prisoners, 1211 01:07:57,966 --> 01:08:01,242 {\an1}gleaning vital information about troop movements 1212 01:08:01,266 --> 01:08:04,209 and the location of industrial targets. 1213 01:08:04,233 --> 01:08:07,142 And they interrogated a Nazi doctor 1214 01:08:07,166 --> 01:08:10,709 {\an1}who proudly boasted that he had overseen the killing 1215 01:08:10,733 --> 01:08:12,976 of thousands of disabled people 1216 01:08:13,000 --> 01:08:16,200 Hitler had called "unworthy of life." 1217 01:08:18,033 --> 01:08:20,076 {\an1}Meanwhile, the Red Army, 1218 01:08:20,100 --> 01:08:22,809 {\an1}which had suffered millions of casualties, 1219 01:08:22,833 --> 01:08:25,309 was moving westward into Poland. 1220 01:08:25,333 --> 01:08:27,242 [Film reel clicking] 1221 01:08:27,266 --> 01:08:30,909 {\an1}As it did, it came upon the death camp at Majdanek, 1222 01:08:30,933 --> 01:08:36,342 {\an1}where 18,000 Jews had been murdered in a single day in 1943 1223 01:08:36,366 --> 01:08:40,866 {\an1}in an operation the SS called the "Harvest Festival." 1224 01:08:42,833 --> 01:08:46,476 {\an1}The spectacle of hundreds of starving prisoners of war 1225 01:08:46,500 --> 01:08:49,642 {\an1}the Germans had abandoned and the stark evidence 1226 01:08:49,666 --> 01:08:52,442 {\an1}of the industrial scope of the Nazi slaughter 1227 01:08:52,466 --> 01:08:54,542 offered Allied correspondents 1228 01:08:54,566 --> 01:08:58,333 their first look at a German killing center. 1229 01:09:00,500 --> 01:09:02,942 Lipstadt: When Majdanek is liberated, 1230 01:09:02,966 --> 01:09:04,909 {\an1}American reporters are there, 1231 01:09:04,933 --> 01:09:09,076 {\an1}and they send back reports that are devoid of the doubts 1232 01:09:09,100 --> 01:09:10,876 {\an1}that were shown when Babi Yar 1233 01:09:10,900 --> 01:09:15,042 {\an1}was liberated a few months earlier. 1234 01:09:15,066 --> 01:09:17,933 {\an1}Americans are beginning to get the picture. 1235 01:09:19,566 --> 01:09:22,476 {\an1}Man: I am now prepared to believe any story 1236 01:09:22,500 --> 01:09:24,376 of German atrocities, 1237 01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:29,176 {\an1}no matter how savage, cruel, and depraved. 1238 01:09:29,200 --> 01:09:31,200 William H. Lawrence. 1239 01:09:37,933 --> 01:09:40,809 {\an7}Man on newsreel: 20,000 wounded arriving in New York. 1240 01:09:40,833 --> 01:09:44,042 {\an8}And there it is, the good old USA... 1241 01:09:44,066 --> 01:09:49,276 {\an1}Narrator: On August 3, 1944, a 29-ship Navy convoy 1242 01:09:49,300 --> 01:09:52,042 {\an1}steamed into New York Harbor. 1243 01:09:52,066 --> 01:09:54,676 The troop transport "Henry Gibbins" 1244 01:09:54,700 --> 01:09:58,276 carried wounded soldiers and sailors, 1245 01:09:58,300 --> 01:10:02,776 but also aboard were 982 civilian refugees 1246 01:10:02,800 --> 01:10:05,342 {\an1}belonging to 18 countries, 1247 01:10:05,366 --> 01:10:08,109 chosen from among thousands of refugees 1248 01:10:08,133 --> 01:10:12,909 {\an1}who had managed to reach Allied territory in Italy. 1249 01:10:12,933 --> 01:10:17,876 {\an1}Their destination was Fort Ontario, New York. 1250 01:10:17,900 --> 01:10:20,876 Ray Morgan: Under the supervision of the War Relocation Authority, 1251 01:10:20,900 --> 01:10:23,909 this train is bearing 982 refugees 1252 01:10:23,933 --> 01:10:25,709 {\an1}from Hitler's total war. 1253 01:10:25,733 --> 01:10:27,709 {\an1}Admitted to the United States... 1254 01:10:27,733 --> 01:10:29,842 {\an1}Narrator: The rationale for their arrival had originated 1255 01:10:29,866 --> 01:10:32,976 {\an1}with John Pehle and the War Refugee Board, 1256 01:10:33,000 --> 01:10:35,076 {\an1}who proposed a trial program 1257 01:10:35,100 --> 01:10:37,642 {\an1}going outside the quota system 1258 01:10:37,666 --> 01:10:41,209 {\an1}to bring refugees to camps in the U.S. 1259 01:10:41,233 --> 01:10:44,733 {\an1}until the war was over and they could return home. 1260 01:10:47,333 --> 01:10:49,976 {\an1}The White House commissioned a Gallup Poll 1261 01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:54,542 {\an1}that showed 70% of Americans now supported the idea 1262 01:10:54,566 --> 01:10:58,876 {\an1}of sheltering refugees from Europe temporarily. 1263 01:10:58,900 --> 01:11:02,842 918 of the refugees were Jewish. 1264 01:11:02,866 --> 01:11:06,476 {\an1}The rest belonged to various Christian denominations, 1265 01:11:06,500 --> 01:11:09,276 included so that the public would not think 1266 01:11:09,300 --> 01:11:13,500 this was exclusively "a Jewish refugee project." 1267 01:11:14,766 --> 01:11:17,942 {\an1}To some refugees, it seemed all-too-reminiscent 1268 01:11:17,966 --> 01:11:20,909 {\an1}of the concentration camps they had escaped... 1269 01:11:20,933 --> 01:11:24,909 {\an1}run-down barracks walled-in by chain-link fences 1270 01:11:24,933 --> 01:11:27,909 {\an1}topped with barbed wire. 1271 01:11:27,933 --> 01:11:30,776 But most felt relief and gratitude. 1272 01:11:30,800 --> 01:11:33,476 "This is paradise," one said. 1273 01:11:33,500 --> 01:11:38,876 {\an1}Another exulted that she now had "a villa on Lake Ontario." 1274 01:11:38,900 --> 01:11:42,409 {\an1}"This is the first time I have been happy in 11 years," 1275 01:11:42,433 --> 01:11:44,976 said a third. 1276 01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:48,609 {\an1}A few local citizens resented the foreigners, 1277 01:11:48,633 --> 01:11:51,442 but most townspeople proved friendly. 1278 01:11:51,466 --> 01:11:55,109 {\an1}Soon, they were passing food and milk, dolls, 1279 01:11:55,133 --> 01:11:58,009 {\an1}and even bicycles over the barbed wire. 1280 01:11:58,033 --> 01:12:01,442 {\an1}Refugee children were enrolled in public school, 1281 01:12:01,466 --> 01:12:04,576 the Boy Scouts, and the Brownies. 1282 01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:07,509 {\an1}Their parents were given day-passes, 1283 01:12:07,533 --> 01:12:10,842 but forbidden to work outside the compound 1284 01:12:10,866 --> 01:12:15,309 {\an1}so that they would not compete for American jobs. 1285 01:12:15,333 --> 01:12:20,676 {\an1}The First Lady and Henry Morgenthau's wife visited the refugees. 1286 01:12:20,700 --> 01:12:23,642 {\an1}Mrs. Roosevelt was moved by the "character" 1287 01:12:23,666 --> 01:12:26,276 {\an1}which had brought them through so much, she said, 1288 01:12:26,300 --> 01:12:29,142 {\an1}and privately thought it "perfectly silly" 1289 01:12:29,166 --> 01:12:32,509 {\an1}that they were required to return home one day. 1290 01:12:32,533 --> 01:12:36,642 {\an1}And after the war, she would be instrumental in seeing to it 1291 01:12:36,666 --> 01:12:39,609 {\an1}that all who wished to remain in the United States 1292 01:12:39,633 --> 01:12:41,900 {\an1}were allowed to do so. 1293 01:12:44,166 --> 01:12:46,009 {\an1}But for the rest of the war, 1294 01:12:46,033 --> 01:12:49,942 {\an1}no more refugees outside the limited quotas 1295 01:12:49,966 --> 01:12:54,600 {\an1}would be offered even temporary shelter in the United States. 1296 01:12:58,233 --> 01:13:01,176 {\an1}Girl as Anne Frank: I still believe, in spite of everything, 1297 01:13:01,200 --> 01:13:04,376 {\an1}that people are truly good at heart. 1298 01:13:04,400 --> 01:13:08,276 {\an1}It is utterly impossible for me to build my life 1299 01:13:08,300 --> 01:13:12,876 {\an1}on a foundation of chaos, suffering, and death. 1300 01:13:12,900 --> 01:13:17,242 {\an1}I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness. 1301 01:13:17,266 --> 01:13:19,409 {\an1}I hear the approaching thunder 1302 01:13:19,433 --> 01:13:22,000 {\an1}that one day will destroy us, too. 1303 01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:27,909 {\an1}I feel the suffering of millions. 1304 01:13:27,933 --> 01:13:31,576 {\an1}And yet, when I look up at the sky, 1305 01:13:31,600 --> 01:13:36,076 {\an1}I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, 1306 01:13:36,100 --> 01:13:38,776 that this cruelty too will end, 1307 01:13:38,800 --> 01:13:43,709 {\an1}that peace and tranquility will return once more. 1308 01:13:43,733 --> 01:13:48,709 {\an1}In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. 1309 01:13:48,733 --> 01:13:51,442 {\an1}Perhaps the day will come 1310 01:13:51,466 --> 01:13:54,500 when I'll be able to realize them. 1311 01:13:57,933 --> 01:14:00,976 {\an1}Narrator: The Frank family had managed to evade the Germans 1312 01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:04,600 {\an1}in Amsterdam for two years and one month. 1313 01:14:06,033 --> 01:14:10,309 {\an1}But on August 4, 1944, a Nazi officer 1314 01:14:10,333 --> 01:14:13,342 and several Dutch policemen arrested them 1315 01:14:13,366 --> 01:14:16,942 {\an1}and the other residents of their secret annex. 1316 01:14:16,966 --> 01:14:19,276 {\an1}They were sent to Westerbork, 1317 01:14:19,300 --> 01:14:22,176 a holding camp in the Netherlands for Jews 1318 01:14:22,200 --> 01:14:25,009 awaiting deportation to the East. 1319 01:14:25,033 --> 01:14:28,042 {\an1}There, they were housed in Barrack 67 1320 01:14:28,066 --> 01:14:29,809 {\an1}in the punishment block, 1321 01:14:29,833 --> 01:14:33,976 {\an1}reserved for those who had been caught hiding. 1322 01:14:34,000 --> 01:14:37,309 Their heads shaved, with too little to eat, 1323 01:14:37,333 --> 01:14:41,142 {\an1}they were put to work turning parts of downed Allied aircraft 1324 01:14:41,166 --> 01:14:43,233 into useful scrap. 1325 01:14:45,633 --> 01:14:47,309 {\an1}Trains had been leaving the camp 1326 01:14:47,333 --> 01:14:50,109 for occupied Poland every Tuesday. 1327 01:14:50,133 --> 01:14:52,809 {\an1}The Frank family was forced to board theirs 1328 01:14:52,833 --> 01:14:56,676 on September 3, 1944, 1329 01:14:56,700 --> 01:15:00,500 along with 1,015 other people. 1330 01:15:03,100 --> 01:15:06,733 {\an1}Theirs would be the last train from Westerbork. 1331 01:15:08,400 --> 01:15:10,876 It would take them 3 days and two nights 1332 01:15:10,900 --> 01:15:13,276 {\an1}to reach their destination... 1333 01:15:13,300 --> 01:15:15,233 Auschwitz. 1334 01:15:17,766 --> 01:15:20,076 {\an1}The Geiringer family had been rounded up 1335 01:15:20,100 --> 01:15:21,909 {\an1}earlier by the Gestapo 1336 01:15:21,933 --> 01:15:25,176 {\an1}and deported to Auschwitz as well. 1337 01:15:25,200 --> 01:15:28,576 Geiringer: The Nazis never told you anything. 1338 01:15:28,600 --> 01:15:31,176 {\an7}So we had no idea where we were going, 1339 01:15:31,200 --> 01:15:33,242 {\an7}what was going to happen to us. 1340 01:15:33,266 --> 01:15:35,876 {\an7}And there were some work camps, 1341 01:15:35,900 --> 01:15:38,542 but we were lucky we were sent to Auschwitz 1342 01:15:38,566 --> 01:15:41,809 and not to Treblinka, for instance, 1343 01:15:41,833 --> 01:15:44,842 {\an1}where the whole transport, no selection, 1344 01:15:44,866 --> 01:15:48,076 {\an1}whole transport went into the gas chambers. 1345 01:15:48,100 --> 01:15:50,742 So then you had no chance, whatsoever. 1346 01:15:50,766 --> 01:15:54,242 {\an1}At least, we had a chance. 1347 01:15:54,266 --> 01:15:56,642 But the first terrible thing was 1348 01:15:56,666 --> 01:15:59,909 {\an1}at arrival, men and women, to different sides. 1349 01:15:59,933 --> 01:16:02,042 {\an1}That was the first command. 1350 01:16:02,066 --> 01:16:05,276 {\an1}And you can imagine what scene that was 1351 01:16:05,300 --> 01:16:07,842 {\an1}because people thought, 1352 01:16:07,866 --> 01:16:10,109 {\an1}and it did happen, of course, many times, 1353 01:16:10,133 --> 01:16:12,742 {\an1}that people never, ever saw each other. 1354 01:16:12,766 --> 01:16:16,476 So my mother and father embraced 1355 01:16:16,500 --> 01:16:19,509 {\an1}and Heinz and my mother and my father and me. 1356 01:16:19,533 --> 01:16:21,309 And my father then did something 1357 01:16:21,333 --> 01:16:23,942 which I remember very clearly. 1358 01:16:23,966 --> 01:16:27,442 {\an1}He took me by the hands and he said, "Evertje"... 1359 01:16:27,466 --> 01:16:29,142 {\an1}that's a Dutch name for Eve, 1360 01:16:29,166 --> 01:16:32,109 "Evertje, God will protect you." 1361 01:16:32,133 --> 01:16:36,309 {\an1}And that was amaz... I was amazed at that 1362 01:16:36,333 --> 01:16:38,776 because he was not really religious. 1363 01:16:38,800 --> 01:16:43,109 But, at that moment, he realized... 1364 01:16:43,133 --> 01:16:45,076 {\an1}nobody else could do it. 1365 01:16:45,100 --> 01:16:47,800 {\an1}But, if there is a God, he should... will look after me. 1366 01:16:49,566 --> 01:16:52,033 Yeah. And, then, the men walked away. 1367 01:16:55,633 --> 01:16:58,576 {\an1}My mother gave me this hat and coat. 1368 01:16:58,600 --> 01:17:01,709 {\an1}And I didn't want to wear it. It was very hot. 1369 01:17:01,733 --> 01:17:06,876 {\an1}But she said, "Well, perhaps, it might come in useful later." 1370 01:17:06,900 --> 01:17:11,709 {\an1}And, then, the camp doctor appeared, 1371 01:17:11,733 --> 01:17:14,542 {\an1}youngish man, very smart 1372 01:17:14,566 --> 01:17:18,342 with a little stick like a conductor. 1373 01:17:18,366 --> 01:17:21,809 {\an1}And he looked you over, just a fraction of a second, 1374 01:17:21,833 --> 01:17:25,876 {\an1}and he conducted you either right or left. 1375 01:17:25,900 --> 01:17:31,076 {\an1}And because this rim of this hat was big, 1376 01:17:31,100 --> 01:17:33,276 he didn't see how young I was. 1377 01:17:33,300 --> 01:17:35,342 So that was the first miracle. 1378 01:17:35,366 --> 01:17:38,309 {\an1}They told us with laughing 1379 01:17:38,333 --> 01:17:40,976 that the family you have been separated 1380 01:17:41,000 --> 01:17:43,509 {\an1}were taken to a shower, 1381 01:17:43,533 --> 01:17:46,309 {\an1}but it wasn't, of course, a shower, it was gas. 1382 01:17:46,333 --> 01:17:51,342 {\an1}And within 15 minutes, they were all killed. 1383 01:17:51,366 --> 01:17:54,009 And then, everything was taken away. 1384 01:17:54,033 --> 01:17:55,876 {\an1}Then we were registered. 1385 01:17:55,900 --> 01:17:57,509 We were all tattooed. 1386 01:17:57,533 --> 01:17:59,376 We were told, "You are not a human being. 1387 01:17:59,400 --> 01:18:02,909 {\an1}"You're just like cattle, who gets... get a number. 1388 01:18:02,933 --> 01:18:04,609 "If ever we need you, 1389 01:18:04,633 --> 01:18:06,376 {\an1}you're going to be called out by your number." 1390 01:18:06,400 --> 01:18:09,709 All of our hair was shaved and naked, 1391 01:18:09,733 --> 01:18:11,276 {\an1}and then they told us, 1392 01:18:11,300 --> 01:18:13,276 {\an1}"Now it's your turn to go in the shower." 1393 01:18:13,300 --> 01:18:16,576 {\an1}Of course, we didn't want to go, but we were pushed into it. 1394 01:18:16,600 --> 01:18:19,976 {\an1}But it was an actual shower. 1395 01:18:20,000 --> 01:18:22,542 We were herded into our barracks, 1396 01:18:22,566 --> 01:18:26,376 which were low, wooden barracks 1397 01:18:26,400 --> 01:18:30,742 {\an1}with... and a sort of a chimney in the middle. 1398 01:18:30,766 --> 01:18:36,466 {\an1}And both sides were bunks, 3 high, like cages. 1399 01:18:38,166 --> 01:18:40,642 {\an1}They told us, "That's where you will spend your night, 1400 01:18:40,666 --> 01:18:43,266 {\an1}as long as you are alive." 1401 01:18:47,133 --> 01:18:49,309 Narrator: In late October, John Pehle 1402 01:18:49,333 --> 01:18:52,942 {\an1}received another horrific report from Switzerland. 1403 01:18:52,966 --> 01:18:56,642 {\an1}It contained firsthand testimony from 3 men 1404 01:18:56,666 --> 01:18:59,442 who had managed to escape from Auschwitz 1405 01:18:59,466 --> 01:19:04,976 {\an1}and provided meticulous details of what they had seen there. 1406 01:19:05,000 --> 01:19:07,776 Pehle: The Board seized upon this. 1407 01:19:07,800 --> 01:19:09,709 Now we had the eyewitness accounts. 1408 01:19:09,733 --> 01:19:17,733 ♪ 1409 01:19:18,000 --> 01:19:21,609 {\an1}Narrator: Pehle said the report "ought to be required reading 1410 01:19:21,633 --> 01:19:24,200 for the people of the United States." 1411 01:19:27,500 --> 01:19:29,342 {\an1}Erbelding: The release of the Auschwitz Report 1412 01:19:29,366 --> 01:19:31,500 {\an1}is headline news throughout the country. 1413 01:19:33,533 --> 01:19:36,676 {\an1}These news reports explaining to the American people 1414 01:19:36,700 --> 01:19:38,842 what Auschwitz was and what happened there 1415 01:19:38,866 --> 01:19:41,909 {\an1}are followed up by op-eds, by columns 1416 01:19:41,933 --> 01:19:45,842 about Auschwitz and what America has to do 1417 01:19:45,866 --> 01:19:48,809 in the wake of all of this information. 1418 01:19:48,833 --> 01:19:51,809 {\an1}Lipstadt: And the fact that it's released 1419 01:19:51,833 --> 01:19:53,776 {\an1}by the War Refugee Board. 1420 01:19:53,800 --> 01:19:56,409 {\an1}It's not being released by a Jewish organization. 1421 01:19:56,433 --> 01:19:59,809 {\an1}It's not being released... Rabbi Stephen Wise says 1422 01:19:59,833 --> 01:20:02,342 it's coming from a governmental source. 1423 01:20:02,366 --> 01:20:05,633 {\an1}It's much harder to dismiss it. 1424 01:20:07,133 --> 01:20:09,576 {\an1}Greene: There's a poll in late 1944, 1425 01:20:09,600 --> 01:20:11,309 {\an1}and the question is asked, 1426 01:20:11,333 --> 01:20:13,042 "Do you believe the Germans are murdering Jews 1427 01:20:13,066 --> 01:20:14,809 {\an1}in concentration camps?" 1428 01:20:14,833 --> 01:20:16,842 {\an8}It runs in the "Washington Post." 1429 01:20:16,866 --> 01:20:20,476 {\an7}76% of Americans by that time believe that it's happening, 1430 01:20:20,500 --> 01:20:22,309 but then they're asked the numbers, 1431 01:20:22,333 --> 01:20:24,776 {\an1}"How many Jews do you think have been killed?" 1432 01:20:24,800 --> 01:20:28,309 And Americans cannot grasp the scale 1433 01:20:28,333 --> 01:20:31,109 and the scope of the crime. 1434 01:20:31,133 --> 01:20:34,276 {\an1}It's only one in 5 Americans believe 1435 01:20:34,300 --> 01:20:37,309 {\an1}that it's more than a million Jews who have been murdered. 1436 01:20:37,333 --> 01:20:40,533 {\an1}And, by that point, it's more than 5 million. 1437 01:20:43,833 --> 01:20:47,476 {\an1}Geiringer: Within a day, we were already covered in lice. 1438 01:20:47,500 --> 01:20:50,642 {\an1}Bedbugs were kind of like a nail, thumbnail, 1439 01:20:50,666 --> 01:20:53,042 {\an1}little animals with... had legs, 1440 01:20:53,066 --> 01:20:56,642 {\an1}and they'd cling to your skin and suck your blood. 1441 01:20:56,666 --> 01:21:01,176 {\an1}And it became very infected and itchy and so on. 1442 01:21:01,200 --> 01:21:05,909 {\an1}Once a week, we had a shower that was a delousing, 1443 01:21:05,933 --> 01:21:08,833 {\an1}and you never knew was it gassing or a shower. 1444 01:21:10,400 --> 01:21:12,342 {\an1}Nobody had any periods. 1445 01:21:12,366 --> 01:21:15,176 {\an1}It was a blessing 'cause we couldn't cope with that. 1446 01:21:15,200 --> 01:21:18,542 {\an1}I mean, the toilets were just cement sinks 1447 01:21:18,566 --> 01:21:20,242 {\an1}with holes in the middle. 1448 01:21:20,266 --> 01:21:22,342 {\an1}And you had to sit where, usually, 1449 01:21:22,366 --> 01:21:25,842 {\an1}everything was already filthy from diarrhea. 1450 01:21:25,866 --> 01:21:27,376 {\an1}And if you didn't sit, 1451 01:21:27,400 --> 01:21:29,076 because you tried to not sit on it, 1452 01:21:29,100 --> 01:21:31,333 you were beaten up to sit in that. 1453 01:21:32,733 --> 01:21:37,542 {\an1}And the other thing was when you went to work outside, march, 1454 01:21:37,566 --> 01:21:39,742 {\an1}if you wanted to escape, 1455 01:21:39,766 --> 01:21:41,542 there was no chance to escape. 1456 01:21:41,566 --> 01:21:45,642 The dogs were there, dogs tore you apart, 1457 01:21:45,666 --> 01:21:47,976 {\an1}killed you, we saw that. 1458 01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:50,676 {\an1}You were caught when you went out of your line, 1459 01:21:50,700 --> 01:21:53,042 {\an1}and then you were taken back to the camp 1460 01:21:53,066 --> 01:21:57,376 {\an1}and there... there was a camp center, a square sort of. 1461 01:21:57,400 --> 01:22:00,009 {\an1}Each bit of the camp had that. 1462 01:22:00,033 --> 01:22:03,276 {\an1}And then they erected gallows, 1463 01:22:03,300 --> 01:22:06,076 and we had to watch, we were all called, 1464 01:22:06,100 --> 01:22:07,742 {\an1}and we had to watch this be... 1465 01:22:07,766 --> 01:22:11,576 Person being hanged there, slowly, you know, 1466 01:22:11,600 --> 01:22:13,642 {\an1}with the tongue coming out of them. 1467 01:22:13,666 --> 01:22:15,576 {\an1}Of course, you had to watch, 1468 01:22:15,600 --> 01:22:17,109 {\an1}but, of course, we closed our eyes. 1469 01:22:17,133 --> 01:22:19,333 But even they'd check that you look. 1470 01:22:21,300 --> 01:22:23,842 {\an1}You know, there were people who just couldn't 1471 01:22:23,866 --> 01:22:25,442 {\an1}tolerate it any longer 1472 01:22:25,466 --> 01:22:27,409 {\an1}and they wanted to die. 1473 01:22:27,433 --> 01:22:30,476 {\an1}And you couldn't even commit suicide, you know? 1474 01:22:30,500 --> 01:22:34,342 {\an1}You had no string or... or you had no pills or anything. 1475 01:22:34,366 --> 01:22:37,476 {\an1}You know? So the only thing was to throw yourself 1476 01:22:37,500 --> 01:22:39,476 against electrified barbed-wire, 1477 01:22:39,500 --> 01:22:42,109 {\an1}and it was strong currents. 1478 01:22:42,133 --> 01:22:44,942 And then, we heard terrible screams, 1479 01:22:44,966 --> 01:22:49,809 {\an1}and you saw people burning on this wire 1480 01:22:49,833 --> 01:22:54,233 {\an7}because you're stuck on it, and you went up in flames. 1481 01:23:00,666 --> 01:23:04,409 {\an1}Narrator: Even before the report about Auschwitz was published, 1482 01:23:04,433 --> 01:23:07,176 Jewish organizations, hoping to save 1483 01:23:07,200 --> 01:23:10,509 {\an1}the thousands of Hungarians still being sent there, 1484 01:23:10,533 --> 01:23:13,676 {\an1}had called for the Allies to bomb the railroad tracks 1485 01:23:13,700 --> 01:23:16,576 leading to the camp, 1486 01:23:16,600 --> 01:23:20,776 {\an1}and then for the bombing of Auschwitz itself. 1487 01:23:20,800 --> 01:23:25,442 {\an1}Their appeal eventually reached the War Refugee Board. 1488 01:23:25,466 --> 01:23:28,509 {\an1}Pehle: As a non-military people, 1489 01:23:28,533 --> 01:23:32,009 {\an1}we were hesitant to press the War Department 1490 01:23:32,033 --> 01:23:35,509 to send bombers, which would otherwise be used 1491 01:23:35,533 --> 01:23:39,142 {\an1}to bomb German cities, for this purpose. 1492 01:23:39,166 --> 01:23:42,476 {\an1}We were concerned about the reaction 1493 01:23:42,500 --> 01:23:44,642 {\an1}of the American people... 1494 01:23:44,666 --> 01:23:46,309 [Gunshot] 1495 01:23:46,333 --> 01:23:49,866 {\an1}if troops died in this sort of expedition. 1496 01:23:51,233 --> 01:23:57,009 {\an7}We went into this matter further and with much soul searching, 1497 01:23:57,033 --> 01:23:59,476 {\an8}because we were very concerned 1498 01:23:59,500 --> 01:24:02,966 {\an7}that going in we would kill a number of Jews. 1499 01:24:04,866 --> 01:24:07,742 Narrator: But after reading The Auschwitz Report, 1500 01:24:07,766 --> 01:24:10,876 {\an1}Pehle changed his mind. 1501 01:24:10,900 --> 01:24:13,009 Pehle: The time came where we felt 1502 01:24:13,033 --> 01:24:15,076 {\an1}that the situation was so desperate 1503 01:24:15,100 --> 01:24:17,576 that we should ask the War Department to do it. 1504 01:24:17,600 --> 01:24:19,242 And we did. 1505 01:24:19,266 --> 01:24:21,342 {\an1}And not only should the rail lines be bombed, 1506 01:24:21,366 --> 01:24:24,576 {\an1}but the crematoria should be bombed, too. 1507 01:24:24,600 --> 01:24:26,276 {\an1}We became capable of doing it 1508 01:24:26,300 --> 01:24:28,109 {\an1}because Allied troops had advanced far enough 1509 01:24:28,133 --> 01:24:29,809 {\an8}up the Italian boot 1510 01:24:29,833 --> 01:24:32,142 {\an7}that we had acquired an old Italian airbase 1511 01:24:32,166 --> 01:24:33,809 {\an7}at a place called Foggia. 1512 01:24:33,833 --> 01:24:36,242 {\an7}And if you flew northeast from Foggia, 1513 01:24:36,266 --> 01:24:38,576 you could get a plane to Auschwitz and back 1514 01:24:38,600 --> 01:24:40,409 {\an1}on a single tank of gas. 1515 01:24:40,433 --> 01:24:42,642 {\an1}Narrator: But the Allies had already learned 1516 01:24:42,666 --> 01:24:46,576 {\an1}that railroad tracks could easily be repaired overnight, 1517 01:24:46,600 --> 01:24:49,876 {\an1}that rail traffic could only be halted permanently 1518 01:24:49,900 --> 01:24:55,076 {\an1}by waves of airplanes hitting them day after day. 1519 01:24:55,100 --> 01:24:58,076 {\an1}In the repeated raids that would have been required 1520 01:24:58,100 --> 01:25:02,476 {\an1}to ensure the destruction of the gas chambers and crematoria, 1521 01:25:02,500 --> 01:25:04,509 {\an1}hundreds, if not thousands, 1522 01:25:04,533 --> 01:25:06,976 {\an1}of the people imprisoned in the camps 1523 01:25:07,000 --> 01:25:09,976 {\an1}would likely have been killed or wounded. 1524 01:25:10,000 --> 01:25:13,700 {\an1}And Allied aircraft were otherwise engaged... 1525 01:25:16,300 --> 01:25:19,942 {\an1}first in blasting a way forward for the Allied troops 1526 01:25:19,966 --> 01:25:22,342 through the Normandy hedgerows, 1527 01:25:22,366 --> 01:25:26,276 {\an1}then destroying bridges to trap the retreating Germans 1528 01:25:26,300 --> 01:25:29,776 {\an1}and taking out the fuel and armament plants 1529 01:25:29,800 --> 01:25:32,576 that powered the Nazi war machine, 1530 01:25:32,600 --> 01:25:36,309 {\an1}all military objectives aimed at bringing about 1531 01:25:36,333 --> 01:25:39,200 {\an1}the quickest possible end to the war. 1532 01:25:41,933 --> 01:25:44,176 {\an1}Man: 3 planes, 9 o'clock, coming around. 1533 01:25:44,200 --> 01:25:46,142 Keep your eye on them, boys. 1534 01:25:46,166 --> 01:25:50,176 {\an1}Narrator: More than 52,000 American airmen were killed 1535 01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:53,142 {\an1}trying to achieve those Allied objectives. 1536 01:25:53,166 --> 01:25:56,466 [Gunfire] 1537 01:25:58,033 --> 01:26:00,442 Man 2: We have an engine on fire. 1538 01:26:00,466 --> 01:26:04,309 [Gunfire] 1539 01:26:04,333 --> 01:26:05,700 Man: Pull her up! 1540 01:26:08,400 --> 01:26:14,009 {\an1}Hayes: If it had become known in the American public in 1944 1541 01:26:14,033 --> 01:26:17,576 {\an1}that planes and pilots 1542 01:26:17,600 --> 01:26:20,576 {\an1}and crews had been lost 1543 01:26:20,600 --> 01:26:25,709 in bombing what was a non-military target, 1544 01:26:25,733 --> 01:26:29,209 {\an1}that would have not been without repercussions. 1545 01:26:29,233 --> 01:26:33,276 {\an1}Narrator: The U.S. Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy 1546 01:26:33,300 --> 01:26:38,042 {\an1}dismissed the idea of bombing Auschwitz as "impracticable." 1547 01:26:38,066 --> 01:26:41,276 {\an1}The mission, he wrote, "would have had a most uncertain, 1548 01:26:41,300 --> 01:26:43,666 {\an1}if not dangerous effect." 1549 01:26:45,900 --> 01:26:50,276 {\an1}Greene: The United States is bombing German munitions areas 1550 01:26:50,300 --> 01:26:53,166 {\an1}4, 5 miles from Auschwitz. 1551 01:26:54,800 --> 01:26:56,542 Would they have hit their target? 1552 01:26:56,566 --> 01:27:00,442 That's... that... that's another question. 1553 01:27:00,466 --> 01:27:02,742 Narrator: So-called "precision bombing" 1554 01:27:02,766 --> 01:27:07,609 {\an1}during World War II was spectacularly imprecise. 1555 01:27:07,633 --> 01:27:11,509 {\an1}One study showed that just one bomber out of 5 1556 01:27:11,533 --> 01:27:16,176 hit within 5 miles of its intended target. 1557 01:27:16,200 --> 01:27:19,942 {\an1}When Allied bombs intended for the I.G. Farben fuel 1558 01:27:19,966 --> 01:27:22,609 {\an1}and rubber plant several miles away 1559 01:27:22,633 --> 01:27:26,609 {\an1}accidentally hit inside Auschwitz, killing dozens, 1560 01:27:26,633 --> 01:27:28,909 {\an1}one man, a Dutch physician, 1561 01:27:28,933 --> 01:27:31,576 testified to the "fear and agony" 1562 01:27:31,600 --> 01:27:35,209 he and his fellow prisoners had felt. 1563 01:27:35,233 --> 01:27:39,209 {\an1}But others, including the future writer Elie Wiesel, 1564 01:27:39,233 --> 01:27:42,442 {\an1}later remembered having been willing to be bombed 1565 01:27:42,466 --> 01:27:45,300 if it meant an end to the killing. 1566 01:27:46,800 --> 01:27:51,242 {\an1}No contemporaneous evidence exists that FDR himself 1567 01:27:51,266 --> 01:27:54,442 {\an1}was ever consulted about bombing Auschwitz, 1568 01:27:54,466 --> 01:27:57,442 but many years later, John McCloy claimed 1569 01:27:57,466 --> 01:27:59,442 {\an1}he had spoken with him, 1570 01:27:59,466 --> 01:28:04,009 {\an1}and that the president had rejected the idea out of hand. 1571 01:28:04,033 --> 01:28:06,376 {\an1}"They'll only move it down the road a little way," 1572 01:28:06,400 --> 01:28:09,176 he said he remembered the president saying. 1573 01:28:09,200 --> 01:28:11,342 "I won't have anything to do with it. 1574 01:28:11,366 --> 01:28:13,676 "We'll be accused of participating 1575 01:28:13,700 --> 01:28:15,866 {\an1}in this horrible business." 1576 01:28:17,866 --> 01:28:19,542 {\an1}Lipstadt: I think they should have, 1577 01:28:19,566 --> 01:28:21,509 {\an1}not because it would have rescued 1578 01:28:21,533 --> 01:28:24,309 {\an1}a major portion of the 6 million, 1579 01:28:24,333 --> 01:28:29,176 {\an1}but as a statement, as a message to the Germans, 1580 01:28:29,200 --> 01:28:32,342 {\an1}"We know what you are doing. 1581 01:28:32,366 --> 01:28:35,909 "We cannot abide what you are doing. 1582 01:28:35,933 --> 01:28:38,976 {\an1}This is our response to what you are doing." 1583 01:28:39,000 --> 01:28:41,876 {\an1}Yes, it could have done that. 1584 01:28:41,900 --> 01:28:43,809 {\an1}Erbelding: I don't think there's a right answer 1585 01:28:43,833 --> 01:28:47,142 {\an1}in whether we should have bombed Auschwitz. 1586 01:28:47,166 --> 01:28:49,176 I don't think there's a right answer 1587 01:28:49,200 --> 01:28:51,342 {\an1}because I don't think there's a way in which we look back 1588 01:28:51,366 --> 01:28:52,842 and think that we did the right thing. 1589 01:28:52,866 --> 01:28:55,176 I think it is one of those tragic questions 1590 01:28:55,200 --> 01:28:58,309 {\an1}in which we are either the people who knew 1591 01:28:58,333 --> 01:28:59,976 that there was a concentration camp there 1592 01:29:00,000 --> 01:29:01,576 and did not try to bomb it, 1593 01:29:01,600 --> 01:29:03,376 {\an1}or we knew there was a concentration camp there 1594 01:29:03,400 --> 01:29:04,809 and we bombed it. 1595 01:29:04,833 --> 01:29:06,742 We bombed prisoners, 1596 01:29:06,766 --> 01:29:10,442 {\an1}we bombed people who might have otherwise survived. 1597 01:29:10,466 --> 01:29:13,209 {\an1}And that is the tragic question of this is, 1598 01:29:13,233 --> 01:29:16,876 {\an1}no matter what we did, I think we'd look back 1599 01:29:16,900 --> 01:29:18,809 and... and wonder what happened... 1600 01:29:18,833 --> 01:29:20,913 {\an1}what would have happened had we done the other thing. 1601 01:29:23,100 --> 01:29:25,909 {\an1}Narrator: In mid-January 1945, 1602 01:29:25,933 --> 01:29:28,476 {\an1}the prisoners at Birkenau and Auschwitz 1603 01:29:28,500 --> 01:29:32,442 {\an1}had begun to hear distant Russian artillery coming closer, 1604 01:29:32,466 --> 01:29:34,776 and then the sound of German vehicles 1605 01:29:34,800 --> 01:29:37,742 {\an1}beginning to rumble away. 1606 01:29:37,766 --> 01:29:41,042 {\an1}The last gassing of 1,700 Jews 1607 01:29:41,066 --> 01:29:45,742 {\an1}had taken place at the end of October 1944. 1608 01:29:45,766 --> 01:29:49,942 {\an1}Afterwards, the SS blew up and bulldozed all but one 1609 01:29:49,966 --> 01:29:52,742 of the gas chambers and crematoria, 1610 01:29:52,766 --> 01:29:56,609 {\an1}burned records, and began marching prisoners on foot 1611 01:29:56,633 --> 01:30:00,442 through the snow back toward Germany. 1612 01:30:00,466 --> 01:30:05,709 {\an1}Between 700,000 and 800,000 survivors from Auschwitz 1613 01:30:05,733 --> 01:30:08,276 and scores of other abandoned camps 1614 01:30:08,300 --> 01:30:10,542 {\an1}were now staggering along the roads 1615 01:30:10,566 --> 01:30:13,109 or packed into open coal cars, 1616 01:30:13,133 --> 01:30:15,909 retreating ahead of the Soviets. 1617 01:30:15,933 --> 01:30:18,742 Around a quarter of a million would die 1618 01:30:18,766 --> 01:30:21,776 {\an1}between the first of the year and the war's end, 1619 01:30:21,800 --> 01:30:24,242 exhausted or frozen, 1620 01:30:24,266 --> 01:30:28,566 {\an1}shot or burned alive by their German guards. 1621 01:30:29,966 --> 01:30:33,876 {\an1}Some 7,000 people remained at Auschwitz, 1622 01:30:33,900 --> 01:30:36,576 too frail to leave the camp. 1623 01:30:36,600 --> 01:30:40,542 {\an1}When the marches started, Eva Geiringer's mother Fritzi 1624 01:30:40,566 --> 01:30:43,409 {\an1}was too weak and ill to move. 1625 01:30:43,433 --> 01:30:45,809 Eva crawled into her mother's bunk, 1626 01:30:45,833 --> 01:30:48,866 {\an1}and they huddled together against the cold. 1627 01:30:50,766 --> 01:30:54,309 {\an1}Geiringer: Most people couldn't even leave their bunks anymore. 1628 01:30:54,333 --> 01:30:57,876 {\an1}They said, "Everybody out. We are going to march. 1629 01:30:57,900 --> 01:31:00,309 "If you are staying, we are going to 1630 01:31:00,333 --> 01:31:03,709 lock up the barracks and burn everything down." 1631 01:31:03,733 --> 01:31:06,809 {\an1}And my mother was so weak, and it was so cold. 1632 01:31:06,833 --> 01:31:09,976 And I said, "Let's just stay." 1633 01:31:10,000 --> 01:31:11,542 We fell asleep. 1634 01:31:11,566 --> 01:31:14,042 And they must have called out again, "Out," 1635 01:31:14,066 --> 01:31:15,500 {\an1}and we didn't hear that. 1636 01:31:17,400 --> 01:31:21,176 {\an1}When we woke up, there was no shouting, no dogs. 1637 01:31:21,200 --> 01:31:23,900 {\an1}It was very, very empty. 1638 01:31:27,633 --> 01:31:29,809 And then I see out of the gate 1639 01:31:29,833 --> 01:31:33,809 {\an1}a huge creature with icicles hanging down his face 1640 01:31:33,833 --> 01:31:36,109 and his... and all fur, 1641 01:31:36,133 --> 01:31:39,176 {\an1}and from the distance, we thought it was a bear. 1642 01:31:39,200 --> 01:31:40,776 But it wasn't. 1643 01:31:40,800 --> 01:31:44,509 {\an1}It was a Russian scout to investigate 1644 01:31:44,533 --> 01:31:49,676 {\an1}if the army should fight or if they can just advance. 1645 01:31:49,700 --> 01:31:52,442 And he came in and looked at us, 1646 01:31:52,466 --> 01:31:56,233 {\an1}and he said, well, he has to go back to report. 1647 01:31:57,766 --> 01:32:00,676 {\an1}And so, I decided I would go to the men's camp 1648 01:32:00,700 --> 01:32:03,566 to try to find my father and brother. 1649 01:32:05,666 --> 01:32:07,209 {\an1}It was very, very cold. 1650 01:32:07,233 --> 01:32:09,876 {\an1}And the fighting was going on around us. 1651 01:32:09,900 --> 01:32:12,976 And I heard bullets going over. 1652 01:32:13,000 --> 01:32:14,742 {\an1}It took me about 6 hours. 1653 01:32:14,766 --> 01:32:17,209 [Gunshots] 1654 01:32:17,233 --> 01:32:20,742 And I didn't really know where to go. 1655 01:32:20,766 --> 01:32:23,876 {\an1}But I found it, eventually. 1656 01:32:23,900 --> 01:32:27,409 {\an1}And I found two people who I had known in Amsterdam. 1657 01:32:27,433 --> 01:32:31,476 And one was... looked very familiar, and I said, 1658 01:32:31,500 --> 01:32:34,342 {\an1}"I think... I think you... you look... I know you," 1659 01:32:34,366 --> 01:32:36,976 but he looked very gaunt and ashen. 1660 01:32:37,000 --> 01:32:40,309 {\an1}And it was Otto Frank. 1661 01:32:40,333 --> 01:32:43,576 {\an1}Narrator: Barely able to walk after a fearful beating, 1662 01:32:43,600 --> 01:32:46,442 {\an1}Otto Frank, too, had been left behind. 1663 01:32:46,466 --> 01:32:52,509 Nearly 6 feet tall, he now weighed just 114 pounds. 1664 01:32:52,533 --> 01:32:54,576 {\an1}Geiringer: And the first question, of course, 1665 01:32:54,600 --> 01:32:57,242 {\an1}"Have you seen my girls and my wife?" 1666 01:32:57,266 --> 01:32:59,109 {\an1}And I hadn't seen them, 1667 01:32:59,133 --> 01:33:00,776 {\an1}because, you know, they're all the different camps. 1668 01:33:00,800 --> 01:33:03,942 But he had seen my father and brother. 1669 01:33:03,966 --> 01:33:07,609 {\an1}So, at that time, I thought, 1670 01:33:07,633 --> 01:33:10,076 {\an1}"Oh, good. Well, I'm sure they'll be alive." 1671 01:33:10,100 --> 01:33:18,100 ♪ 1672 01:33:21,400 --> 01:33:29,400 {\an8}♪ 1673 01:33:33,100 --> 01:33:34,842 {\an1}Narrator: Otto Frank would later write 1674 01:33:34,866 --> 01:33:36,809 {\an1}his mother in Switzerland 1675 01:33:36,833 --> 01:33:39,566 to tell her that he had survived. 1676 01:33:42,766 --> 01:33:47,109 {\an1}Man as Frank: Where Edith and the children are, I do not know. 1677 01:33:47,133 --> 01:33:51,209 {\an1}We have been apart since September, 1944. 1678 01:33:51,233 --> 01:33:55,442 {\an1}I merely heard that they had been transported to Germany. 1679 01:33:55,466 --> 01:33:59,533 {\an1}One has to be hopeful to see them back well and healthy. 1680 01:34:05,133 --> 01:34:06,876 Narrator: Frank would eventually learn 1681 01:34:06,900 --> 01:34:08,942 {\an1}that he had been misinformed. 1682 01:34:08,966 --> 01:34:11,876 His wife had not been sent to Germany. 1683 01:34:11,900 --> 01:34:15,142 Instead, she had died at Birkenau, 1684 01:34:15,166 --> 01:34:19,342 just 3 weeks before the Soviet Army came. 1685 01:34:19,366 --> 01:34:23,776 {\an1}To the end, Edith had kept bits of bread beneath her blanket 1686 01:34:23,800 --> 01:34:28,666 {\an1}in case she somehow saw her husband and daughters again. 1687 01:34:32,033 --> 01:34:36,176 {\an1}The Soviets transported Otto Frank and Eva Geiringer 1688 01:34:36,200 --> 01:34:38,709 and her mother by truck and train 1689 01:34:38,733 --> 01:34:41,376 {\an1}to Odessa on the Black Sea. 1690 01:34:41,400 --> 01:34:45,576 {\an1}Eva's brother and father were still missing. 1691 01:34:45,600 --> 01:34:48,509 {\an1}The refugees were lodged in a crumbling palace 1692 01:34:48,533 --> 01:34:50,476 overlooking the beach 1693 01:34:50,500 --> 01:34:53,900 {\an1}and told they would have to stay there until the war ended. 1694 01:34:55,733 --> 01:34:57,676 {\an1}"Everybody is impatient, 1695 01:34:57,700 --> 01:35:00,376 {\an1}in spite of daily chocolate and cigarettes," 1696 01:35:00,400 --> 01:35:02,542 {\an1}Frank wrote in his diary. 1697 01:35:02,566 --> 01:35:05,166 {\an1}They just wanted to go home. 1698 01:35:07,733 --> 01:35:13,076 {\an1}As Allied armies converged on Germany in the spring of 1945, 1699 01:35:13,100 --> 01:35:16,609 {\an1}one by one, they came upon the concentration camps 1700 01:35:16,633 --> 01:35:20,376 {\an1}that the Reich had tried to keep secret. 1701 01:35:20,400 --> 01:35:22,709 The Soviets, driving westward, 1702 01:35:22,733 --> 01:35:27,209 {\an1}had already over-run all 6 of the German killing centers 1703 01:35:27,233 --> 01:35:31,276 {\an1}where more than 3 million human beings had been murdered... 1704 01:35:31,300 --> 01:35:33,742 Auschwitz, Belzec, 1705 01:35:33,766 --> 01:35:36,076 Majdanek, Sobibor, 1706 01:35:36,100 --> 01:35:39,309 Treblinka, Chelmno. 1707 01:35:39,333 --> 01:35:42,576 {\an1}British and Canadian troops were about to capture 1708 01:35:42,600 --> 01:35:46,533 {\an1}Neuengamme and Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany. 1709 01:35:48,933 --> 01:35:50,409 And in early April, 1710 01:35:50,433 --> 01:35:53,176 {\an1}soldiers of the U.S. 4th Armored Division 1711 01:35:53,200 --> 01:35:55,942 {\an1}searching for a supposed German headquarters, 1712 01:35:55,966 --> 01:35:57,909 came upon Ohrdruf, 1713 01:35:57,933 --> 01:36:01,242 one of at least 130 satellite camps 1714 01:36:01,266 --> 01:36:05,533 {\an1}surrounding a far larger one... Buchenwald. 1715 01:36:07,666 --> 01:36:13,109 {\an1}These camps inside Germany itself were not officially killing centers 1716 01:36:13,133 --> 01:36:15,409 {\an1}like those in occupied Poland, 1717 01:36:15,433 --> 01:36:19,309 {\an1}but they were places to which people were sent to die 1718 01:36:19,333 --> 01:36:23,809 after untold hours of forced labor, starvation, 1719 01:36:23,833 --> 01:36:28,266 exhaustion, disease, and hopelessness. 1720 01:36:30,333 --> 01:36:33,509 {\an1}Among the first Americans to enter Buchenwald 1721 01:36:33,533 --> 01:36:36,609 was an Army private, Benjamin Ferencz, 1722 01:36:36,633 --> 01:36:39,009 who had been assigned to a new unit 1723 01:36:39,033 --> 01:36:43,909 {\an1}tasked with investigating German war crimes. 1724 01:36:43,933 --> 01:36:47,109 {\an1}Ferencz: I jumped into my Jeep. I raced there. 1725 01:36:47,133 --> 01:36:50,142 I found the American tank officer 1726 01:36:50,166 --> 01:36:53,709 {\an1}who had liberated the camp, had gotten there first. 1727 01:36:53,733 --> 01:36:55,942 I said, "I'm out here on orders 1728 01:36:55,966 --> 01:36:58,476 {\an1}"carrying out a policy of the United States Government. 1729 01:36:58,500 --> 01:37:01,976 {\an1}"I need 10 men, immediately, to surround the schreibstube, 1730 01:37:02,000 --> 01:37:05,176 the office where the records are kept." 1731 01:37:05,200 --> 01:37:08,342 {\an7}The crematoria were going; smoke in the air, 1732 01:37:08,366 --> 01:37:10,776 {\an8}the smell of burning bodies in the air. 1733 01:37:10,800 --> 01:37:14,209 {\an7}In front of the crematoria, stacks of bones. 1734 01:37:14,233 --> 01:37:17,242 {\an1}They were human beings. 1735 01:37:17,266 --> 01:37:20,876 {\an1}And they were so thin that they just looked like bones. 1736 01:37:20,900 --> 01:37:23,376 {\an1}And they were stacked up in front of the crematoria, 1737 01:37:23,400 --> 01:37:24,700 waiting to be burned. 1738 01:37:27,600 --> 01:37:33,533 {\an1}That was my introduction to Hitler's plan in action. 1739 01:37:36,733 --> 01:37:40,342 I thought to myself, "It can't be real." 1740 01:37:40,366 --> 01:37:43,442 {\an1}And it was unbelievable. 1741 01:37:43,466 --> 01:37:46,766 {\an1}But, it was true, and I knew, of course, it was true. 1742 01:37:52,233 --> 01:37:56,476 {\an1}Narrator: Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower 1743 01:37:56,500 --> 01:37:59,166 flew in to see for himself. 1744 01:38:04,766 --> 01:38:07,609 When a young GI nervously laughed, 1745 01:38:07,633 --> 01:38:09,909 {\an1}Eisenhower glared at him, 1746 01:38:09,933 --> 01:38:13,276 {\an1}"Still having trouble hating them?" he asked. 1747 01:38:13,300 --> 01:38:15,709 "We are told that the American soldier 1748 01:38:15,733 --> 01:38:19,042 {\an1}does not know what he is fighting for," he said. 1749 01:38:19,066 --> 01:38:23,166 {\an1}"Now at least he will know what he is fighting against." 1750 01:38:25,800 --> 01:38:28,142 Lipstadt: When Eisenhower sees this, 1751 01:38:28,166 --> 01:38:33,042 {\an1}he orders that a congressional delegation be brought there, 1752 01:38:33,066 --> 01:38:37,109 {\an1}and that American editors be brought there. 1753 01:38:37,133 --> 01:38:39,909 And they are shocked. 1754 01:38:39,933 --> 01:38:43,066 {\an1}And they describe in great detail what they see. 1755 01:38:44,966 --> 01:38:49,209 I think it speaks to the lingering doubts 1756 01:38:49,233 --> 01:38:52,276 {\an1}that this could be real. 1757 01:38:52,300 --> 01:38:54,942 And it also speaks to 1758 01:38:54,966 --> 01:38:58,909 {\an1}an inability to put your head around this. 1759 01:38:58,933 --> 01:39:02,109 And I don't say that critically. 1760 01:39:02,133 --> 01:39:07,076 {\an1}I say that this is something that beggars the imagination. 1761 01:39:07,100 --> 01:39:11,242 {\an1}This was a murder that was beyond belief. 1762 01:39:11,266 --> 01:39:18,642 {\an1}And it takes that personal confrontation with the evidence, 1763 01:39:18,666 --> 01:39:23,376 with the remnants, for them to grasp that. 1764 01:39:23,400 --> 01:39:26,242 {\an1}Narrator: To make sure Americans understood 1765 01:39:26,266 --> 01:39:28,576 {\an1}the depths of Nazi depravity 1766 01:39:28,600 --> 01:39:31,042 and to make sure future generations 1767 01:39:31,066 --> 01:39:33,676 could never deny what had happened, 1768 01:39:33,700 --> 01:39:37,842 {\an1}Eisenhower insisted that military personnel in the area 1769 01:39:37,866 --> 01:39:43,142 {\an1}come and see for themselves what the Nazis had done. 1770 01:39:43,166 --> 01:39:46,809 {\an1}Stern: We were actually stationed in Weimar, 1771 01:39:46,833 --> 01:39:51,476 and we had heard of the Buchenwald Camp. 1772 01:39:51,500 --> 01:39:54,742 I lagged behind Sergeant Hadley, 1773 01:39:54,766 --> 01:39:59,009 {\an1}who was probably one of the toughest MP soldier 1774 01:39:59,033 --> 01:40:00,900 {\an1}I had ever encountered... 1775 01:40:02,700 --> 01:40:06,842 and people told me their stories. 1776 01:40:06,866 --> 01:40:10,233 {\an1}But it was a skeleton you were talking to. 1777 01:40:13,133 --> 01:40:15,942 I looked at them, and I started... 1778 01:40:15,966 --> 01:40:19,509 {\an7}I was a hardened soldier by then, 1779 01:40:19,533 --> 01:40:22,009 {\an7}but I couldn't help myself. 1780 01:40:22,033 --> 01:40:23,766 So, I was crying. 1781 01:40:26,033 --> 01:40:31,776 I looked around and Sergeant Hadley, 1782 01:40:31,800 --> 01:40:34,776 {\an1}from a Protestant family in Ohio, 1783 01:40:34,800 --> 01:40:40,009 {\an1}he was bawling like a kid, as I was. 1784 01:40:40,033 --> 01:40:42,533 You couldn't take it. 1785 01:40:43,866 --> 01:40:46,276 But they could. 1786 01:40:46,300 --> 01:40:49,342 The perpetrators who could do such a thing, 1787 01:40:49,366 --> 01:40:53,933 {\an1}and the victims who had to endure it. 1788 01:40:56,866 --> 01:41:00,142 {\an1}Narrator: American troops would liberate Nordhausen, 1789 01:41:00,166 --> 01:41:04,042 {\an1}Flossenberg, Mauthausen, and Dachau, 1790 01:41:04,066 --> 01:41:07,633 {\an1}the very first of Hitler's concentration camps. 1791 01:41:09,800 --> 01:41:12,376 {\an1}A GI named Joseph A. Wyant 1792 01:41:12,400 --> 01:41:15,642 {\an1}used his off-duty time to visit there, 1793 01:41:15,666 --> 01:41:19,509 {\an1}and then wrote home to his father. 1794 01:41:19,533 --> 01:41:23,476 {\an1}Man as Wyant: This particular crime has been uncovered, Pop, 1795 01:41:23,500 --> 01:41:25,742 {\an1}but a worse crime seems to me 1796 01:41:25,766 --> 01:41:27,409 {\an1}to be the spreading of the thought 1797 01:41:27,433 --> 01:41:29,833 {\an1}that leads to this type of thing. 1798 01:41:31,833 --> 01:41:35,376 {\an1}It has happened in mass proportions here in Germany, 1799 01:41:35,400 --> 01:41:38,076 but who knows how far the ideas have spread 1800 01:41:38,100 --> 01:41:40,600 {\an1}or where else it may break out? 1801 01:41:42,766 --> 01:41:45,742 {\an1}I tell you, Pop, even more important 1802 01:41:45,766 --> 01:41:48,109 {\an1}than the punishment of the criminals here 1803 01:41:48,133 --> 01:41:51,133 is the stamping out of their philosophy. 1804 01:41:52,833 --> 01:41:55,042 {\an1}As I wrote you once before, 1805 01:41:55,066 --> 01:41:58,076 this is not a war between nations, 1806 01:41:58,100 --> 01:42:02,300 {\an1}but humanity's struggle for the right to exist. 1807 01:42:04,000 --> 01:42:05,842 If you see fit, 1808 01:42:05,866 --> 01:42:08,842 {\an1}I wish you would show any of your friends this letter. 1809 01:42:08,866 --> 01:42:11,200 {\an1}Your devoted son, Joe. 1810 01:42:14,366 --> 01:42:16,566 {\an1}[Man chanting "Ki Mitzion" in Hebrew] 1811 01:42:36,966 --> 01:42:39,533 {\an1}[All singing in Hebrew] 1812 01:42:56,000 --> 01:42:59,609 {\an1}Eichhorn: Today, I come to you in a dual capacity... 1813 01:42:59,633 --> 01:43:02,742 As a soldier in the American army 1814 01:43:02,766 --> 01:43:08,509 {\an1}and as a representative of the Jewish community of America. 1815 01:43:08,533 --> 01:43:11,209 {\an1}As an American soldier, 1816 01:43:11,233 --> 01:43:14,776 {\an1}I say to you that we are proud, 1817 01:43:14,800 --> 01:43:17,876 {\an1}very proud to be here, 1818 01:43:17,900 --> 01:43:22,209 {\an1}to know that we have had a share in the destruction 1819 01:43:22,233 --> 01:43:26,176 of the most cruel tyranny of all time. 1820 01:43:26,200 --> 01:43:28,109 {\an1}As an American soldier, 1821 01:43:28,133 --> 01:43:31,876 {\an1}I say to you that we are very, very proud 1822 01:43:31,900 --> 01:43:35,842 {\an1}to be with you as comrades in arms, 1823 01:43:35,866 --> 01:43:38,709 to greet you, and to salute you 1824 01:43:38,733 --> 01:43:42,166 who have been the bravest of the brave. 1825 01:43:46,800 --> 01:43:49,276 {\an1}Narrator: On April 12th, the same day 1826 01:43:49,300 --> 01:43:52,042 that Eisenhower had toured Ohrdruf, 1827 01:43:52,066 --> 01:43:56,542 {\an1}President Roosevelt had died at Warm Springs, Georgia 1828 01:43:56,566 --> 01:43:58,376 {\an1}with victory in the war, 1829 01:43:58,400 --> 01:44:00,909 {\an1}for which he'd tried to prepare his countrymen, 1830 01:44:00,933 --> 01:44:03,200 still weeks away. 1831 01:44:09,800 --> 01:44:16,276 {\an1}On May 8, 1945, the Germans finally surrendered. 1832 01:44:16,300 --> 01:44:20,000 {\an1}Hitler had killed himself in his Berlin bunker. 1833 01:44:24,000 --> 01:44:26,976 {\an1}Guy Stern was still in Germany. 1834 01:44:27,000 --> 01:44:31,809 {\an1}Before going back to America, he returned to his hometown 1835 01:44:31,833 --> 01:44:35,433 to try to find out what happened to his family. 1836 01:44:37,233 --> 01:44:40,776 {\an1}Stern: I went to Hildesheim. 1837 01:44:40,800 --> 01:44:46,442 {\an1}I first was overwhelmed by the ruins of many of the things 1838 01:44:46,466 --> 01:44:48,900 that I had looked at with my mother. 1839 01:44:50,800 --> 01:44:55,266 {\an1}This history was in rubbles. 1840 01:44:58,733 --> 01:45:02,442 {\an1}Narrator: His mother and father, his brother and sister 1841 01:45:02,466 --> 01:45:05,809 {\an1}had been deported from the Warsaw Ghetto, 1842 01:45:05,833 --> 01:45:08,733 and Guy never heard from them again. 1843 01:45:13,766 --> 01:45:17,209 Otto Frank and Eva and Fritzi Geiringer 1844 01:45:17,233 --> 01:45:18,909 were still in Odessa 1845 01:45:18,933 --> 01:45:22,876 {\an1}when word came that the war in Europe was over. 1846 01:45:22,900 --> 01:45:25,309 {\an1}Eva remembered that at the news 1847 01:45:25,333 --> 01:45:27,376 {\an1}"the grounds of the palace broke out 1848 01:45:27,400 --> 01:45:31,142 {\an1}"in unrestrained jubilation, dancing, singing, 1849 01:45:31,166 --> 01:45:34,966 laughing, and drunken declarations of love." 1850 01:45:37,100 --> 01:45:40,076 {\an1}A few days later, Eva, her mother, 1851 01:45:40,100 --> 01:45:43,309 {\an1}and Otto Frank boarded a transport ship 1852 01:45:43,333 --> 01:45:45,476 bound for Marseille. 1853 01:45:45,500 --> 01:45:47,876 Eva's mother burst into tears 1854 01:45:47,900 --> 01:45:49,976 at the sight of the white tablecloths 1855 01:45:50,000 --> 01:45:53,242 {\an1}and neatly laid-out silverware in the dining room. 1856 01:45:53,266 --> 01:45:55,509 The captain promised his passengers 1857 01:45:55,533 --> 01:45:58,509 {\an1}that they needn't hoard food in their cabins; 1858 01:45:58,533 --> 01:46:00,733 they would have plenty to eat. 1859 01:46:04,666 --> 01:46:07,276 {\an1}From Marseille, they traveled to Amsterdam 1860 01:46:07,300 --> 01:46:09,876 {\an1}where they hoped to take up the lives they'd led 1861 01:46:09,900 --> 01:46:13,909 {\an1}before the Gestapo came for them. 1862 01:46:13,933 --> 01:46:16,300 That would prove impossible. 1863 01:46:19,733 --> 01:46:22,876 {\an1}Geiringer: My mother got a letter from the Red Cross, 1864 01:46:22,900 --> 01:46:24,842 very cool. 1865 01:46:24,866 --> 01:46:28,342 {\an1}"Your husband Erich Geiringer, with the birthdate, 1866 01:46:28,366 --> 01:46:31,842 {\an1}"and your son Heinz, as well, with the date of his birth, 1867 01:46:31,866 --> 01:46:35,909 "died in Mauthausen several days before 1868 01:46:35,933 --> 01:46:40,742 {\an1}the American Army came to liberate that camp." 1869 01:46:40,766 --> 01:46:44,609 {\an1}That was for us, and for me, the last straw 1870 01:46:44,633 --> 01:46:47,276 because I always say, I have survived 1871 01:46:47,300 --> 01:46:50,209 {\an1}because I thought life will go back, eventually, 1872 01:46:50,233 --> 01:46:52,076 how it used to be. 1873 01:46:52,100 --> 01:46:55,242 {\an1}But when I realized that can never, ever happen again, 1874 01:46:55,266 --> 01:46:58,576 I became very, very depressed. 1875 01:46:58,600 --> 01:47:00,509 That was harder than the camp, 1876 01:47:00,533 --> 01:47:05,176 {\an1}because, in the camp, I had a purpose, to survive. 1877 01:47:05,200 --> 01:47:09,476 {\an1}But then I thought, I don't really want to live anymore. 1878 01:47:09,500 --> 01:47:14,109 {\an1}That was really, really hard for me to accept that. 1879 01:47:14,133 --> 01:47:16,809 {\an1}Even till this day, I haven't really accepted it, 1880 01:47:16,833 --> 01:47:21,509 {\an1}especially because my father was such a strong character 1881 01:47:21,533 --> 01:47:24,309 altogether, mentally and physically. 1882 01:47:24,333 --> 01:47:29,642 {\an1}But I think, probably, Heinz died before him. 1883 01:47:29,666 --> 01:47:32,142 {\an1}And that must have been for him terrible, 1884 01:47:32,166 --> 01:47:34,176 {\an1}perhaps to see him die. 1885 01:47:34,200 --> 01:47:36,642 {\an1}He thought his wife is dead. 1886 01:47:36,666 --> 01:47:39,342 {\an1}He probably didn't think I could have survived. 1887 01:47:39,366 --> 01:47:42,542 And I don't think he wanted to live on his own. 1888 01:47:42,566 --> 01:47:45,000 {\an1}I think he just gave up. 1889 01:47:48,200 --> 01:47:53,609 {\an1}Narrator: On July 18, 1945, Otto Frank finally discovered 1890 01:47:53,633 --> 01:47:56,442 what had happened to his daughters. 1891 01:47:56,466 --> 01:47:59,709 {\an1}Both had still been alive when he, Eva, 1892 01:47:59,733 --> 01:48:03,509 and Fritzi Geiringer were liberated from Auschwitz. 1893 01:48:03,533 --> 01:48:06,442 But typhus had swept Bergen-Belsen, 1894 01:48:06,466 --> 01:48:09,666 {\an1}the camp in northern Germany where they'd been sent. 1895 01:48:11,433 --> 01:48:15,842 {\an1}Both Margot and Anne are thought to have died in February, 1896 01:48:15,866 --> 01:48:18,766 two months before the camp was liberated. 1897 01:48:21,566 --> 01:48:23,709 Geiringer: Otto came to us one day. 1898 01:48:23,733 --> 01:48:25,342 {\an1}He looked like a ghost. 1899 01:48:25,366 --> 01:48:27,209 And after he left, my mother then said, 1900 01:48:27,233 --> 01:48:29,209 {\an1}"Well, we have at least each other, 1901 01:48:29,233 --> 01:48:31,509 but this poor man has nobody." 1902 01:48:31,533 --> 01:48:35,509 He was 56 or 57 at that time. 1903 01:48:35,533 --> 01:48:38,500 {\an1}You know, what has he got to live for? 1904 01:48:40,333 --> 01:48:42,042 Narrator: One of the Dutch Gentiles 1905 01:48:42,066 --> 01:48:45,342 {\an1}who had hidden the Franks had kept Anne's diary, 1906 01:48:45,366 --> 01:48:48,842 {\an1}planning to give it back to her when she returned. 1907 01:48:48,866 --> 01:48:52,876 {\an1}Instead, she gave it to Anne's grieving father. 1908 01:48:52,900 --> 01:48:58,809 {\an1}He could not bear to read more than a few pages at a time. 1909 01:48:58,833 --> 01:49:00,742 {\an1}Geiringer: It took him 3 weeks to read it. 1910 01:49:00,766 --> 01:49:03,109 {\an1}He was so moved by it. 1911 01:49:03,133 --> 01:49:05,142 {\an1}And he always used to say, 1912 01:49:05,166 --> 01:49:07,442 "I didn't really know my own child." 1913 01:49:07,466 --> 01:49:11,442 {\an1}He was amazed about what she wrote in it. 1914 01:49:11,466 --> 01:49:14,242 {\an1}He was so proud of it. 1915 01:49:14,266 --> 01:49:18,642 {\an1}When he got it, he had no idea about publishing it, 1916 01:49:18,666 --> 01:49:20,609 {\an1}but a history professor said 1917 01:49:20,633 --> 01:49:22,909 that it's such a valuable document 1918 01:49:22,933 --> 01:49:26,609 about this period, you have to publish it. 1919 01:49:26,633 --> 01:49:30,976 {\an1}Lipstadt: It gets tremendous attention in this country. 1920 01:49:31,000 --> 01:49:32,942 {\an1}It's presented on Broadway, 1921 01:49:32,966 --> 01:49:35,342 {\an1}and then presented in a major Hollywood picture 1922 01:49:35,366 --> 01:49:37,176 as a triumph. 1923 01:49:37,200 --> 01:49:40,842 {\an1}No one dies in this story. No one is murdered. 1924 01:49:40,866 --> 01:49:43,442 No gas chambers. No shootings. 1925 01:49:43,466 --> 01:49:47,742 {\an1}No Nazis, till the last scene when they come in. 1926 01:49:47,766 --> 01:49:51,842 {\an1}It's the story of triumph of a little girl. 1927 01:49:51,866 --> 01:49:54,076 {\an1}It's a wonderful story. It's a wonderful diary. 1928 01:49:54,100 --> 01:49:56,576 {\an1}She writes some terrific things in it. 1929 01:49:56,600 --> 01:49:59,809 {\an1}But it's not the story of the Holocaust. 1930 01:49:59,833 --> 01:50:01,809 It's not the story of the Shoah. 1931 01:50:01,833 --> 01:50:04,342 It's not the story of a genocide. 1932 01:50:04,366 --> 01:50:09,142 I still believe, in spite of everything, 1933 01:50:09,166 --> 01:50:12,409 that people are really good at heart. 1934 01:50:12,433 --> 01:50:14,509 {\an1}Geiringer: When she said that she still believes 1935 01:50:14,533 --> 01:50:18,609 {\an1}in the goodness of mankind, I said, "How can she?" 1936 01:50:18,633 --> 01:50:20,442 {\an1}But she wrote it before. 1937 01:50:20,466 --> 01:50:24,309 {\an1}If she would have written that after, 1938 01:50:24,333 --> 01:50:26,109 {\an1}if she would have survived, 1939 01:50:26,133 --> 01:50:28,042 {\an1}she would not have said that, I think. 1940 01:50:28,066 --> 01:50:30,900 {\an1}I still think that she wouldn't have said that. 1941 01:50:38,766 --> 01:50:41,276 {\an1}Narrator: Eva Geiringer's mother Fritzi 1942 01:50:41,300 --> 01:50:45,076 {\an1}would eventually marry Otto Frank. 1943 01:50:45,100 --> 01:50:48,876 {\an1}"By the tragedy in both our lives," she remembered, 1944 01:50:48,900 --> 01:50:52,733 "together we found new happiness." 1945 01:50:58,666 --> 01:51:00,533 [Indistinct chatter] 1946 01:51:04,900 --> 01:51:07,442 {\an7}Man on newsreel: These newsreel and Signal Corps pictures 1947 01:51:07,466 --> 01:51:11,476 {\an7}were officially recorded for posterity. 1948 01:51:11,500 --> 01:51:14,676 {\an1}6 furnaces, each holding 3 bodies, 1949 01:51:14,700 --> 01:51:16,209 were used in cremating the dead. 1950 01:51:16,233 --> 01:51:18,476 {\an1}Don't turn away. Look. 1951 01:51:18,500 --> 01:51:22,176 Horror unbelievable, yet true. 1952 01:51:22,200 --> 01:51:24,676 The vile inhuman beasts took pride 1953 01:51:24,700 --> 01:51:27,342 {\an1}in their concentration camp at Nordhausen. 1954 01:51:27,366 --> 01:51:28,809 {\an1}Narrator: By the war's end, 1955 01:51:28,833 --> 01:51:31,009 Americans had seen for themselves 1956 01:51:31,033 --> 01:51:33,709 {\an1}that the Nazi horrors many had dismissed 1957 01:51:33,733 --> 01:51:38,076 {\an1}as wartime propaganda were all-too real. 1958 01:51:38,100 --> 01:51:41,042 {\an1}Man on newsreel: No words can express the world's disgust 1959 01:51:41,066 --> 01:51:43,633 {\an1}at Germany's organized carnage. 1960 01:51:45,766 --> 01:51:47,742 {\an1}Mendelsohn: And I remember saying to my mother once, 1961 01:51:47,766 --> 01:51:51,000 {\an1}I said, "What was it like after the war?" 1962 01:51:52,766 --> 01:51:55,476 {\an8}She said... 1963 01:51:55,500 --> 01:51:58,700 {\an8}everyone sat around waiting for news. 1964 01:52:00,333 --> 01:52:03,000 {\an1}She said it was like a hush in the air. 1965 01:52:06,233 --> 01:52:09,909 Finally, maybe 1946, maybe 1947, 1966 01:52:09,933 --> 01:52:12,242 {\an1}she came home from school one day, 1967 01:52:12,266 --> 01:52:15,642 and her father was sitting at the kitchen table, 1968 01:52:15,666 --> 01:52:18,100 crying with a letter in his hand. 1969 01:52:22,633 --> 01:52:24,442 {\an1}And I think that is a scene 1970 01:52:24,466 --> 01:52:29,176 {\an1}that probably repeated itself all over America. 1971 01:52:29,200 --> 01:52:31,509 {\an1}Jaeger Mendelsohn: They had just gotten the final word 1972 01:52:31,533 --> 01:52:35,542 {\an1}that Uncle Shmiel and his 4 daughters and his wife 1973 01:52:35,566 --> 01:52:38,676 {\an1}had all been murdered. 1974 01:52:38,700 --> 01:52:42,409 {\an1}And my father carried to the day he died 1975 01:52:42,433 --> 01:52:47,633 {\an1}the letters that his brother Shmiel had sent... 1976 01:52:49,266 --> 01:52:51,409 {\an7}because he felt so guilty 1977 01:52:51,433 --> 01:52:55,533 {\an8}about not being able to get out Shmiel. 1978 01:52:58,600 --> 01:53:00,542 {\an1}Lipstadt: In many respects, 1979 01:53:00,566 --> 01:53:04,809 {\an1}Nazi Germany accomplished its goal. 1980 01:53:04,833 --> 01:53:07,642 Didn't accomplish it totally. 1981 01:53:07,666 --> 01:53:10,800 {\an1}But the Jews have never replaced themselves since then. 1982 01:53:13,366 --> 01:53:17,609 {\an1}Woman: I have the feeling that we let our consciences 1983 01:53:17,633 --> 01:53:22,476 {\an1}realize too late the need of standing up against something 1984 01:53:22,500 --> 01:53:25,466 {\an1}that we knew was wrong. 1985 01:53:27,033 --> 01:53:30,676 We have therefore had to avenge it, 1986 01:53:30,700 --> 01:53:35,466 but we did nothing to prevent it. 1987 01:53:38,033 --> 01:53:40,976 {\an1}I hope that in the future, 1988 01:53:41,000 --> 01:53:45,776 {\an1}we are going to remember that there can be no compromise 1989 01:53:45,800 --> 01:53:52,709 {\an1}at any point with the things that we know are wrong. 1990 01:53:52,733 --> 01:53:55,666 Eleanor Roosevelt. 1991 01:53:58,500 --> 01:54:00,809 {\an1}Narrator: Tens of millions of human beings 1992 01:54:00,833 --> 01:54:03,709 were killed during the Second World War. 1993 01:54:03,733 --> 01:54:06,876 {\an1}Some 6 million of them were Jews, 1994 01:54:06,900 --> 01:54:10,609 murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, 1995 01:54:10,633 --> 01:54:16,109 {\an1}two-thirds of all the Jews who had lived in Europe. 1996 01:54:16,133 --> 01:54:19,342 {\an1}The war left millions of displaced persons, 1997 01:54:19,366 --> 01:54:23,209 {\an1}including more than a quarter of a million Jewish refugees 1998 01:54:23,233 --> 01:54:26,209 {\an1}confined to crowded camps in Germany, 1999 01:54:26,233 --> 01:54:32,709 {\an1}Austria, and Italy between 1945 and 1952. 2000 01:54:32,733 --> 01:54:36,842 {\an1}Most were unable or unwilling to return to homes 2001 01:54:36,866 --> 01:54:39,842 {\an1}that had been destroyed or occupied 2002 01:54:39,866 --> 01:54:44,233 {\an7}among people who were often openly hostile toward them. 2003 01:54:47,900 --> 01:54:50,742 {\an8}Lipstadt: It's easy to imagine 2004 01:54:50,766 --> 01:54:53,542 {\an1}that after the opening of the camps 2005 01:54:53,566 --> 01:54:55,542 {\an1}and the stories come out of what happened, 2006 01:54:55,566 --> 01:54:59,376 {\an1}that people realize this is the legacy of antisemitism, 2007 01:54:59,400 --> 01:55:01,009 and they banish it. 2008 01:55:01,033 --> 01:55:02,442 That it's gone, it's over, it's finished. 2009 01:55:02,466 --> 01:55:03,976 {\an1}But that's not what happens. 2010 01:55:04,000 --> 01:55:06,276 {\an1}And nothing makes it clearer 2011 01:55:06,300 --> 01:55:12,042 {\an1}than debates over allowing refugees in. 2012 01:55:12,066 --> 01:55:14,409 {\an1}Narrator: When asked if their country should now allow 2013 01:55:14,433 --> 01:55:17,809 {\an1}more refugees than it had before the war, 2014 01:55:17,833 --> 01:55:21,542 {\an1}only 5% percent of Americans said yes, 2015 01:55:21,566 --> 01:55:25,300 {\an1}and more than a third said the number should be fewer. 2016 01:55:26,733 --> 01:55:31,609 {\an1}Between the spring of 1945 and June of 1947, 2017 01:55:31,633 --> 01:55:33,342 {\an1}because the United States 2018 01:55:33,366 --> 01:55:35,942 continued to enforce its quota system, 2019 01:55:35,966 --> 01:55:41,242 {\an1}fewer than 15,000 Jewish refugees obtained visas. 2020 01:55:41,266 --> 01:55:45,276 Other countries were no more welcoming. 2021 01:55:45,300 --> 01:55:48,109 {\an1}And Britain continued to limit immigration 2022 01:55:48,133 --> 01:55:51,176 {\an1}to Palestine until 1947 2023 01:55:51,200 --> 01:55:55,742 {\an1}when it turned the region's fate over to the United Nations. 2024 01:55:55,766 --> 01:55:59,409 {\an1}The UN partitioned it between Jews and Arabs 2025 01:55:59,433 --> 01:56:05,142 {\an1}and legally and illegally as many as 200,000 European Jews 2026 01:56:05,166 --> 01:56:07,742 made it to the contested land 2027 01:56:07,766 --> 01:56:12,433 that in 1948 became the State of Israel. 2028 01:56:15,933 --> 01:56:20,209 {\an1}Congress eventually loosened its restrictions somewhat, 2029 01:56:20,233 --> 01:56:22,976 {\an1}and by 1953 the United States 2030 01:56:23,000 --> 01:56:27,842 {\an1}would accept some 80,000 Jewish survivors. 2031 01:56:27,866 --> 01:56:29,342 At the same time, 2032 01:56:29,366 --> 01:56:33,176 among the 170,000 Gentile refugees 2033 01:56:33,200 --> 01:56:36,176 also admitted were some former Nazis 2034 01:56:36,200 --> 01:56:39,376 {\an1}and those who had collaborated with them, 2035 01:56:39,400 --> 01:56:42,542 welcomed during the new Cold War 2036 01:56:42,566 --> 01:56:45,266 because they were anti-Communists. 2037 01:56:47,033 --> 01:56:48,442 {\an1}Man on newsreel: Here, before a court 2038 01:56:48,466 --> 01:56:50,109 representing world civilization, 2039 01:56:50,133 --> 01:56:52,376 {\an1}the Nazi hierarchy charged with conspiracy 2040 01:56:52,400 --> 01:56:56,176 {\an1}against peace and crimes against humanity goes on trial. 2041 01:56:56,200 --> 01:56:58,009 {\an1}Narrator: As the Allies had promised, 2042 01:56:58,033 --> 01:57:01,676 {\an1}Nazi leaders were put on trial after the war, 2043 01:57:01,700 --> 01:57:06,576 {\an1}the first international trial for war crimes in history. 2044 01:57:06,600 --> 01:57:10,376 {\an1}Like Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels had killed themselves, 2045 01:57:10,400 --> 01:57:15,676 {\an1}but some other high-ranking co-conspirators were charged. 2046 01:57:15,700 --> 01:57:17,709 {\an1}Man on newsreel: In the courtroom, the dramatic entry 2047 01:57:17,733 --> 01:57:19,276 of the 8 judges and alternates 2048 01:57:19,300 --> 01:57:21,242 of the International Military Tribunal. 2049 01:57:21,266 --> 01:57:24,676 {\an1}After 10 months, the longest criminal trial on record, 2050 01:57:24,700 --> 01:57:27,109 they're ready to deliver the verdict. 2051 01:57:27,133 --> 01:57:30,276 {\an1}Death for 11, prison for 7. 2052 01:57:30,300 --> 01:57:33,533 {\an1}Justice has caught up with the master criminals. 2053 01:57:35,533 --> 01:57:37,542 The charges we have brought... 2054 01:57:37,566 --> 01:57:42,142 {\an1}Narrator: There would be 11 more trials over the next 3 years. 2055 01:57:42,166 --> 01:57:44,142 {\an1}...of having committed crimes against humanity. 2056 01:57:44,166 --> 01:57:47,309 {\an1}Narrator: Benjamin Ferencz led the prosecution 2057 01:57:47,333 --> 01:57:50,442 of 22 commanders of the Einsatzgruppen, 2058 01:57:50,466 --> 01:57:53,709 using as evidence their own reports 2059 01:57:53,733 --> 01:57:58,976 {\an1}of mass killings of Jews in the occupied Soviet Union. 2060 01:57:59,000 --> 01:58:01,409 {\an1}Ferencz: I had never tried a case in my life. 2061 01:58:01,433 --> 01:58:04,542 {\an1}I had very seldom been in a courtroom. 2062 01:58:04,566 --> 01:58:09,342 {\an1}I had the proof in my hands, a pile of documents. 2063 01:58:09,366 --> 01:58:12,042 And some of them were very specific. 2064 01:58:12,066 --> 01:58:14,709 {\an7}"Babi Yar, we murdered"... I don't know... 2065 01:58:14,733 --> 01:58:18,642 {\an7}"33,226 people in two days." 2066 01:58:18,666 --> 01:58:21,609 And they had it all, and I began to add them up. 2067 01:58:21,633 --> 01:58:23,276 {\an1}And when I reached a million, 2068 01:58:23,300 --> 01:58:26,676 {\an1}I said, "That's enough. That's enough." 2069 01:58:26,700 --> 01:58:29,376 {\an1}Narrator: Before the war, there had been no word 2070 01:58:29,400 --> 01:58:31,642 {\an1}for the crime Nazi Germany 2071 01:58:31,666 --> 01:58:35,009 would commit against the Jewish people. 2072 01:58:35,033 --> 01:58:37,142 {\an1}Greene: So who gives it a name? 2073 01:58:37,166 --> 01:58:41,642 {\an7}Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish refugee to the United States, 2074 01:58:41,666 --> 01:58:45,076 {\an7}who loses 49 members of his own family. 2075 01:58:45,100 --> 01:58:48,276 {\an1}Narrator: The legal scholar Raphael Lemkin argued 2076 01:58:48,300 --> 01:58:51,242 {\an1}that a new legal framework, and a new word, 2077 01:58:51,266 --> 01:58:54,076 {\an1}were needed to hold the Nazis accountable 2078 01:58:54,100 --> 01:58:55,809 {\an1}for their pre-meditated 2079 01:58:55,833 --> 01:58:59,409 {\an1}"destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group." 2080 01:58:59,433 --> 01:59:01,409 {\an1}He labored for a long time 2081 01:59:01,433 --> 01:59:04,376 trying to find just the right word. 2082 01:59:04,400 --> 01:59:07,976 {\an1}It combined "genos," the ancient Greek word 2083 01:59:08,000 --> 01:59:10,142 for "race or tribe," 2084 01:59:10,166 --> 01:59:15,009 with the Latin word "cide," for killing. 2085 01:59:15,033 --> 01:59:17,909 Ferencz: Genocide, the extermination 2086 01:59:17,933 --> 01:59:21,876 {\an1}of whole categories of human beings, 2087 01:59:21,900 --> 01:59:25,542 {\an1}was a foremost instrument of the Nazi doctrine. 2088 01:59:25,566 --> 01:59:30,576 {\an1}I knew that genocide was not listed as a crime in our statutes. 2089 01:59:30,600 --> 01:59:34,709 But I felt in respect to my knowledge 2090 01:59:34,733 --> 01:59:37,876 {\an1}of what Raphael Lemkin had been trying to do, 2091 01:59:37,900 --> 01:59:40,376 {\an1}I deliberately put that in. 2092 01:59:40,400 --> 01:59:42,009 {\an1}...in a manner shocking... 2093 01:59:42,033 --> 01:59:45,676 I also in my concluding remarks, 2094 01:59:45,700 --> 01:59:48,242 {\an1}I said, "These defendants 2095 01:59:48,266 --> 01:59:51,876 {\an1}"wrote the blackest page in human history. 2096 01:59:51,900 --> 01:59:55,542 {\an1}"Life was their toy and death was their tool. 2097 01:59:55,566 --> 01:59:58,442 {\an1}"If these men be immune, 2098 01:59:58,466 --> 02:00:01,509 "then law has lost its meaning 2099 02:00:01,533 --> 02:00:05,242 {\an1}and we must all live in fear." 2100 02:00:05,266 --> 02:00:08,666 {\an1}And I... "the Prosecution rests its case." 2101 02:00:12,400 --> 02:00:16,676 {\an1}Lipstadt: I think it takes many years for America really 2102 02:00:16,700 --> 02:00:19,342 to step back and fully understand 2103 02:00:19,366 --> 02:00:22,542 that this was a war unlike any other, 2104 02:00:22,566 --> 02:00:25,442 {\an1}this kind of state-sponsored genocide 2105 02:00:25,466 --> 02:00:28,276 {\an1}of such mega proportions. 2106 02:00:28,300 --> 02:00:32,042 That understanding really won't happen 2107 02:00:32,066 --> 02:00:37,942 {\an1}until 1961 and the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. 2108 02:00:37,966 --> 02:00:40,776 {\an1}Narrator: SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann 2109 02:00:40,800 --> 02:00:44,876 {\an1}had overseen the deportation of more than a million Jews 2110 02:00:44,900 --> 02:00:49,309 {\an1}to ghettos and killing centers in occupied Poland. 2111 02:00:49,333 --> 02:00:52,209 Israeli agents had captured him 2112 02:00:52,233 --> 02:00:54,542 from his hiding place in Argentina 2113 02:00:54,566 --> 02:00:59,176 {\an1}and brought him to Israel to stand trial in 1961. 2114 02:00:59,200 --> 02:01:00,676 [Speaking foreign language] 2115 02:01:00,700 --> 02:01:02,376 {\an1}Translator: And they took both of them 2116 02:01:02,400 --> 02:01:04,909 and the two others and all 4 were shot 2117 02:01:04,933 --> 02:01:06,642 in the back of their head. 2118 02:01:06,666 --> 02:01:08,409 And the bullets came out of their forehead. 2119 02:01:08,433 --> 02:01:12,642 Woman: I felt him take the child from my arms. 2120 02:01:12,666 --> 02:01:18,400 {\an1}The child cried out and was shot immediately. 2121 02:01:19,666 --> 02:01:23,442 {\an1}Narrator: More than 100 survivors spoke. 2122 02:01:23,466 --> 02:01:26,909 Their testimony, candid, harrowing, 2123 02:01:26,933 --> 02:01:29,209 {\an1}and televised around the world, 2124 02:01:29,233 --> 02:01:32,776 {\an1}gave millions of Americans a deeper understanding 2125 02:01:32,800 --> 02:01:38,542 {\an1}of the horror of what was now being called the "Holocaust." 2126 02:01:38,566 --> 02:01:43,976 {\an1}And poured kerosene and petrol under those Jews 2127 02:01:44,000 --> 02:01:47,466 and set fire to all the Jews... 2128 02:01:49,100 --> 02:01:51,476 while they were in their prayer shawls... 2129 02:01:51,500 --> 02:01:53,276 {\an1}holding their prayer books, 2130 02:01:53,300 --> 02:01:55,333 in supplication to God. 2131 02:02:03,133 --> 02:02:05,309 {\an1}Lyndon B. Johnson: This bill that we will sign today 2132 02:02:05,333 --> 02:02:07,676 {\an1}is not a revolutionary bill. 2133 02:02:07,700 --> 02:02:11,076 {\an7}Yet it is still one of the most important acts 2134 02:02:11,100 --> 02:02:15,976 {\an8}of this Congress and of this administration. 2135 02:02:16,000 --> 02:02:21,809 {\an1}For it does repair a very deep and painful flaw 2136 02:02:21,833 --> 02:02:24,500 in the fabric of American justice. 2137 02:02:25,733 --> 02:02:30,842 It corrects a cruel and enduring wrong 2138 02:02:30,866 --> 02:02:33,233 in the conduct of the American Nation. 2139 02:02:34,900 --> 02:02:37,176 {\an1}Narrator: In October 1965, 2140 02:02:37,200 --> 02:02:40,309 {\an1}after more than 40 years of dogged effort 2141 02:02:40,333 --> 02:02:43,242 {\an1}by New York Congressman Emanuel Celler, 2142 02:02:43,266 --> 02:02:47,476 {\an1}Congress passed an immigration bill that finally abolished 2143 02:02:47,500 --> 02:02:49,876 {\an1}the discriminatory quota system 2144 02:02:49,900 --> 02:02:52,142 {\an1}based on "national" origins 2145 02:02:52,166 --> 02:02:56,109 {\an1}that had denied sanctuary to so many desperate people 2146 02:02:56,133 --> 02:02:59,600 {\an1}trying to flee Hitler in the years before the War. 2147 02:03:01,100 --> 02:03:04,409 {\an1}But the bill imposed limits on people from the Americas, 2148 02:03:04,433 --> 02:03:05,976 {\an1}who had gone back and forth 2149 02:03:06,000 --> 02:03:08,942 across the border for generations, 2150 02:03:08,966 --> 02:03:11,442 {\an1}and it still made no provisions 2151 02:03:11,466 --> 02:03:14,200 {\an1}for most of the world's refugees. 2152 02:03:16,166 --> 02:03:18,042 The President of the United States 2153 02:03:18,066 --> 02:03:22,000 {\an1}held the signing ceremony at the Statue of Liberty. 2154 02:03:23,400 --> 02:03:25,976 {\an1}Johnson: This measure that we will sign today 2155 02:03:26,000 --> 02:03:29,242 {\an1}will really make us truer to ourselves 2156 02:03:29,266 --> 02:03:33,142 both as a country and as a people. 2157 02:03:33,166 --> 02:03:38,809 {\an1}It will strengthen us in a hundred unseen ways. 2158 02:03:38,833 --> 02:03:42,742 {\an1}And today we can all believe that the lamp 2159 02:03:42,766 --> 02:03:46,776 {\an1}of this grand old lady is brighter today 2160 02:03:46,800 --> 02:03:52,076 {\an1}and the golden door that she guards gleams more brilliantly 2161 02:03:52,100 --> 02:03:56,776 in the light of an increased liberty 2162 02:03:56,800 --> 02:04:01,809 {\an1}for the people from all countries of the globe. 2163 02:04:01,833 --> 02:04:03,933 [Applause] 2164 02:04:07,966 --> 02:04:13,576 {\an1}Irvin Painter: Americans are now coming to terms with our past. 2165 02:04:13,600 --> 02:04:15,776 {\an7}What we have over and over and over again 2166 02:04:15,800 --> 02:04:19,342 {\an7}in American history is on the one hand, 2167 02:04:19,366 --> 02:04:24,842 {\an7}this stream of white supremacy and antisemitism. 2168 02:04:24,866 --> 02:04:28,476 It's a big stream, and it's always there. 2169 02:04:28,500 --> 02:04:32,509 And sometimes it bubbles up and it shocks us, 2170 02:04:32,533 --> 02:04:38,576 {\an1}and it gets slapped down, but the stream is always there, 2171 02:04:38,600 --> 02:04:40,776 {\an1}and we should not be shocked, 2172 02:04:40,800 --> 02:04:43,509 we should not think, this is not America. 2173 02:04:43,533 --> 02:04:45,133 It is. 2174 02:04:46,633 --> 02:04:49,276 {\an1}Snyder: This thing that people call white supremacy, 2175 02:04:49,300 --> 02:04:51,609 {\an1}that's not some marginal thing. 2176 02:04:51,633 --> 02:04:53,176 {\an1}You have to look back and say, 2177 02:04:53,200 --> 02:04:57,209 {\an1}"How can we change so that we really can be a republic, 2178 02:04:57,233 --> 02:04:59,742 {\an1}or really can be a democracy?" 2179 02:04:59,766 --> 02:05:02,109 {\an7}If we're going to be a country in the future, 2180 02:05:02,133 --> 02:05:04,509 {\an7}then we have to have a view of our own history, 2181 02:05:04,533 --> 02:05:07,376 {\an7}which allows us to see what we were. 2182 02:05:07,400 --> 02:05:11,009 And we can become something different. 2183 02:05:11,033 --> 02:05:13,009 {\an1}And then we have to become something different 2184 02:05:13,033 --> 02:05:14,500 if we're going to make it. 2185 02:05:17,466 --> 02:05:19,242 {\an8}Jeff Pegues: 2,400-word manifesto 2186 02:05:19,266 --> 02:05:23,276 {\an7}is filled with hatred for Blacks, Hispanics, Jews... 2187 02:05:23,300 --> 02:05:25,476 {\an7}Woman: He wanted to start a race war as you say... 2188 02:05:25,500 --> 02:05:29,509 {\an7}Donald Trump: My first hour in office, those people are gone. 2189 02:05:29,533 --> 02:05:32,776 {\an8}These cultures are changing us, we are not changing them. 2190 02:05:32,800 --> 02:05:35,242 {\an7}Crowd chanting: You will not replace us! 2191 02:05:35,266 --> 02:05:36,942 {\an7}Stephanie Ramos: Hundreds of white nationalists 2192 02:05:36,966 --> 02:05:39,200 {\an8}storming the University of Virginia. 2193 02:05:44,466 --> 02:05:46,376 {\an7}Ellison Barber: We now know one person has died 2194 02:05:46,400 --> 02:05:48,609 {\an7}in addition to those 5 in critical condition. 2195 02:05:48,633 --> 02:05:50,409 {\an7}Lulu Garcia-Navarro: 11 Jewish worshippers have been killed 2196 02:05:50,433 --> 02:05:52,176 {\an7}at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. 2197 02:05:52,200 --> 02:05:54,042 {\an7}A man has been charged with hate crimes 2198 02:05:54,066 --> 02:05:55,876 and could face the death penalty. 2199 02:05:55,900 --> 02:05:58,709 {\an1}He was reportedly motivated by conspiracy theories 2200 02:05:58,733 --> 02:06:00,942 about Jewish leaders and immigration. 2201 02:06:00,966 --> 02:06:02,576 [Gunshots] 2202 02:06:02,600 --> 02:06:03,742 {\an1}Chuck Todd: And we're trying to figure out 2203 02:06:03,766 --> 02:06:05,076 what's happening on the Senate floor. 2204 02:06:05,100 --> 02:06:07,842 {\an1}Josh Letterman, tell us what's going on outside. 2205 02:06:07,866 --> 02:06:09,976 {\an1}Letterman: We are watching a situation that has gotten 2206 02:06:10,000 --> 02:06:11,900 {\an1}much and much more tense. 2207 02:06:13,933 --> 02:06:14,942 Let's go! 2208 02:06:14,966 --> 02:06:19,209 [Indistinct shouting] 2209 02:06:19,233 --> 02:06:21,309 [Crowd cheering] 2210 02:06:21,333 --> 02:06:23,042 {\an1}Crowd: Treason! Treason! 2211 02:06:23,066 --> 02:06:27,366 {\an1}Treason! Treason! Treason! Treason! 2212 02:06:31,400 --> 02:06:34,309 The institutions of our civilization 2213 02:06:34,333 --> 02:06:36,242 {\an1}are under tremendous stress. 2214 02:06:36,266 --> 02:06:39,876 {\an1}I'm not necessarily saying they're gonna go 2215 02:06:39,900 --> 02:06:41,076 {\an1}in the same direction, 2216 02:06:41,100 --> 02:06:42,476 but they could go in the same direction, 2217 02:06:42,500 --> 02:06:45,142 because institutions are just conventions, 2218 02:06:45,166 --> 02:06:48,276 {\an1}and as soon as somebody says... Flips a switch and says, 2219 02:06:48,300 --> 02:06:50,042 "Oh, it's OK to shoot grandmothers 2220 02:06:50,066 --> 02:06:52,609 {\an1}"in a cemetery on Sun... You know, on a Saturday 2221 02:06:52,633 --> 02:06:54,566 and then go to church on Sunday." 2222 02:06:56,433 --> 02:07:00,009 The fragility of civilized behavior 2223 02:07:00,033 --> 02:07:02,842 is the one thing you really learn. 2224 02:07:02,866 --> 02:07:06,476 {\an1}'Cause these people who we now see in these photographs, 2225 02:07:06,500 --> 02:07:09,676 {\an1}these sepia photographs, and they're receding into time, 2226 02:07:09,700 --> 02:07:14,076 they're no different, no different from us. 2227 02:07:14,100 --> 02:07:17,009 {\an1}You look at your neighbors, the people at the dry cleaners, 2228 02:07:17,033 --> 02:07:18,576 {\an1}the waiters in the restaurant. 2229 02:07:18,600 --> 02:07:21,633 {\an1}That's who these people were. Don't kid yourself. 2230 02:07:24,500 --> 02:07:28,542 Stern: We have seen the nadir of human behavior, 2231 02:07:28,566 --> 02:07:33,942 {\an1}and we have no guarantee that it won't recur. 2232 02:07:33,966 --> 02:07:38,776 If we can make that clear and graphic 2233 02:07:38,800 --> 02:07:43,642 {\an1}and understandable, not as something to imitate, 2234 02:07:43,666 --> 02:07:49,376 {\an1}but as a warning of what can happen to human beings, 2235 02:07:49,400 --> 02:07:55,400 {\an1}then, perhaps, we have one shield against its recurrence. 2236 02:07:56,933 --> 02:07:59,833 [Bird squawks] 2237 02:08:02,466 --> 02:08:10,466 ♪ 2238 02:09:33,600 --> 02:09:35,042 Announcer: Stream the full series, 2239 02:09:35,066 --> 02:09:36,576 go behind the scenes, 2240 02:09:36,600 --> 02:09:39,076 {\an1}and learn how to bring "The U.S. and the Holocaust" 2241 02:09:39,100 --> 02:09:41,342 {\an1}into the classroom by visiting 2242 02:09:41,366 --> 02:09:44,309 pbs.org/holocaust 2243 02:09:44,333 --> 02:09:47,476 or the PBS video app. 2244 02:09:47,500 --> 02:09:49,442 To order "The U.S. and the Holocaust" 2245 02:09:49,466 --> 02:09:51,242 on DVD or Blu-ray, 2246 02:09:51,266 --> 02:09:53,309 visit shopPBS or call 2247 02:09:53,333 --> 02:09:55,509 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 2248 02:09:55,533 --> 02:09:57,976 {\an1}A CD of original music from the series 2249 02:09:58,000 --> 02:09:59,776 is also available. 2250 02:09:59,800 --> 02:10:01,442 {\an1}"The U.S. and the Holocaust" 2251 02:10:01,466 --> 02:10:04,476 is also available with PBS Passport 2252 02:10:04,500 --> 02:10:06,776 {\an1}and on Amazon Prime Video. 2253 02:10:06,800 --> 02:10:14,800 ♪ 2254 02:10:50,566 --> 02:10:52,066 ♪