Auschwitz and the Allies

DateFebruary 16 1984

Can DescriptionsMaster Specials X4095 Auschwitz Part 1 Rec. 2/16/84

Abstract[Includes footage from within Auschwitz. Graphic images of prisoners. Some nudity.] Opens with interview with Reuven Dafni. Title: ‘Auschwitz and the Allies with Edward Asner’. Ed Asner introduces and narrates the special. Highlights the Allies knowledge of the Holocaust prior to the end of the war. History of the Holocaust from the Wannsee Conference, emigration and deportation of European Jews, construction of Auschwitz, the ignoring of the genocide by the Allies, response from American Jewish people, the invasion of Italy, and bombing of area around Auschwitz. Uses black and white archival footage. Includes interviews with Jewish activist Yitshaq Ben-Ami, Lord Hankey (Robert Hankey) of the British Foreign Office, Dr. Gerhart Riegner of the World Jewish Congress, Geneva, ninth Duke of Portland Victor Cavendish-Bentinck of the British Foreign Office, Count Raczynski (Edward Bernard Raczyński), Josiah Dubois of the US Treasury Department, Joseph Linton of the Jewish Agency in London, Captain Leonard Cheshire, Colonel Ernest Gentit, and Auschwitz survivors Dr. Rudolf Vrba, Dr. Gisella Perl, Samuel Pisar, Dr. Erich Kulka, and Dr. Shalom Lindenbaum. Ends with Ed Asner discussing the liberation of Auschwitz, and a commission by former US Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg about the United States actions in response to the Holocaust. [American Jewish Commission on the Holocaust.] [Tape also includes a second version for broadcast on the BBC.]

OtherCredits: A BBC production in association with NDR based on the book “Auschwitz and the Allies” by Martin Gilbert. The BBC wishes to thank: Associated Press; Auschwitz Museum, Poland; Axelrod Collection; British Movietone; Defence Audio-Visual Agency, Washington, D.C.; Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, New York; Transit GMBH West Germany; Imperial War Museum; Institute For Jewish Affairs, London; Institute For Mediterranean Affairs, New York; Israel State Archives, Jewish Museum, New York; National Archives Washington, D.C.; Pathe News Library; Pictorial Press; Polish Institute and Skikorski Library; Popperfoto; Public Records Office, Kew; Sterling Library, Yale University; Sherman Grindberg, New York; Time-Life Films, New York; Twentieth Century For Movietone, New York; Yivo; Zionist Archives and Library, New York; Historical Consultant: Martin Gilbert; Script Consultant: Piers Brendon; Film Cameramen: Derek Banks, John McGlashan, George Hoffer; Film Lighting Electrician: Ron Stevenson; Film Recordists: Michael Turner, John murphy, Patrice Martinge; Rostrum Camera: Ken Morse; Graphic Designer: Haydon Young; Dubbing Editor: Robert Merchant; Production Assistant: Mandy Temple; Assistant Producer: James Barker; Film Editor: Peter Symes; Producer: Rex Bloomstein; Copyright BBC MCMLXXXI; A BBC TV Production; Distributed by: Lionheart Television International, Inc. For Metromedia: Executive Producer: William Brennan; Senior Specials Producer: J. Philip Miller; Producer: Jerry Kirschenbaum; Associate Producer: Robert Geballe; Director: William Lowell; Program Executive: J. Clifford Curley