George Wright
Made in the mid-1960's when the Jewish holocaust was still largely ignored, this National Film Board of Canada documentary is one of the most moving tributes to to the millions who died in the death camps and those who survived and carry the psychological scars and the memories of spouses, parents, children, brothers, sisters, friends who were brutalized, starved or consigned to oblivion. Signs point to extermination sites with the stark numbers of those who were put to death. Without resorting to emotional language, the film goes to the core truth that this happened in a supposedly advanced civilization with the world sitting on the sidelines. Because the narration is sombre and the camera work so stark in black and white, the message is powerful. The makers of the film wisely chose not to dramatize such a story, charged as it is with deep, gut-wrenching sorrow.
