Customer Rating: 
Summary: Memory is all
Comment: There have been many dramas and documentaries of what happened in the death camps of WWII but put altogether they would not cut as deeply or inform so completely as 'Shoah'.
Covering in particular Chelmno,(where Jews were 1st killed by gas in vans), to Treblinka, Auschwitz, Birkenau and the Warsaw ghetto Lanzemann does not embellish or re-enact anything, he simply films as survivors, perpertrators and bystanders all tell how they see what happened. I say see and not saw because many have convinced themselves of their own innocence by dismissing what happened. It is for this reason that 'Shoah' needs to be so long in running time, everyone has their own skewed perspective for whatever reason and it is only when enough evidence is gathered from so many differing sides and personalities that you can begin to see a little of what happened.
Bystanders who had rather seen the Jews returned to Israel but were glad to see them go nonetheless, guards "following orders" and a general apathy to one of humanities greatest crimes.
At over 9 hours this is a huge work and requires you to sit through heartbreaking interviews over and over again.
The truth is though that in a society where we are becoming jealous and resentful of those who are not us or do not believe what we do this account is a stark reminder of just how quickly and terribly humans can turn on each other on a massive scale if we allow ourselves to de-humanize others.
I love films but I cannot think of a single other that HAS to be seen. This is without peer and is essential.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Definite Word
Comment: This film is a major work of love by the director, spending years tracing and sometimes secretly filming interviews. Yes, at times the quality of the filming is poor but the nature of the subject doesnt need HD quality as this is about the people effected. Made up of personal memories only this does not include any footage from the horrendous times. Then again, watching the peoples faces as they speak is all you need to comprehend, in only a small way, the horrors they faced.
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![Shoah (4 Disc Set & 184 Page Book Special Edition Box Set) [1985]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wkDF2%2BmoL._SL160_.jpg)
