Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution

2005 - 2005

Surprising Beginnings

11th January 2005

Episode 1

This episode sets the stage for the series and examines the radical increase in violence against all opponents of the Nazi state. In particular, it explores the German army's invasion of the Soviet Union during the summer of 1941 and connects this campaign to the first gassing experiments in Auschwitz, Poland, which were aimed at Russian prisoners of war, not Jews.

Orders and Initiatives

18th January 2005

Episode 2

Laurence Rees continues his documentary history, marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with an account of how the Nazis developed their ""Final Solution"". By 1942, Rudolf Hess had established the camp as a place to murder thousands of Jews, Slavs, Roma Gypsies.

Factories of Death

25th January 2005

Episode 3

The Nazis' marshalling of Jews from across Europe - including the Channel Islands- gained momentum in 1942. Unable to cope with the huge influx, Auschwitz and Treblinka were modified with bigger gas chambers and crematoria. But inspirational stories of courage and compassion could still be found among this appalling catalogue of inhumanity, including that of German officer Albert Battel, who risked his life to save detainees.

Corruption

1st February 2005

Episode 4

By 1943, life was good for many of the SS. Eyewitness accounts recall how those in power at Auschwitz lined their pockets with wealth stolen from Jewish inmates while also engaging in illicit affairs.

Frenzied Killing

8th February 2005

Episode 5

SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann ordered the deportation of Hungary's Jews following occupation in 1944, precipitating the most intensive period of slaughter in Aushwitz's history. The Allies, meanwhile, faced dilemmas: should they divert valuable resources to bomb transport routes to the camp? And should they consider Eichmann's offer of one million Jewish lives in exchange for certain provisions - the ""Blood for Goods"" deal?

Liberation and Revenge

15th February 2005

Episode 6

The reality of life in the concentration camps was revealed upon the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in 1945. But what was the fate of the remaining prisoners and the SS garrisons? The final days of the war and its immediate aftermath is a story as shocking as it is surprising, with Jewish survivors facing appalling treatment in their home countries and large numbers of SS perpetrators remaining hidden.

Top Cast

Linda Ellerbee•Linda Hunt•Samuel West

Director

Catherine Tatge

Documentary Crime War & Politics

This documentary series tackles one of history's most horrifying subjects: the Holocaust and the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

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Full Cast

Linda Ellerbee

Linda Hunt

Samuel West

Narrator

Linda Ellerbee

Narrator

Horst-Günter Marx

Rudolph Höss

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Gordon Newell

Captain Bill Cross

Full Crew

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Maciej Skalski

Executive Producer

Arvo Pärt

Additional Soundtrack

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Patrick Duval

Director of Photography

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Jacek Petrycki

Director of Photography

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Krzysztof Gołąbek

Director of Photography

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Piotr Śliskowski

Director of Photography

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Nili Aslan

Director of Photography

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Martin Patmore

Director of Photography

Sergey Astakhov

Director of Photography

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Ross Keith

Director of Photography

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Laurence Rees

Screenplay

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David Orenstein

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Doris Bergen

Screenplay

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Catherine Tatge

Director

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Laurence Rees

Director

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Megan Callaway

Screenplay

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Mary Mazur

Producer

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