The Holocaust

The Boy in Striped Pajamas (2008) is the story of the unlikely friendship between two eight-year-old boys, Bruno, son of a concentration camp commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish prisoner. It has – yes, spoiler – a tragic ending. Rated PG-13.

In The Book Thief (2013), young Liesel Meminger, living with a foster family in Germany during World War II, is taught to read by her kindly foster father – and begins her book thievery by saving a book from a book burning. Eventually she steals – “borrows” – books to share with Jewish Max, whom her foster parents are hiding in their basement. Narrated, via voiceover, by Death himself. Rated PG-13.

Taika Waititi’s JoJo Rabbit (2019) is a brilliant satirical film about Jojo, a young German boy, whose single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Issues of prejudice and blind nationalism (both encouraged by Jojo’s imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler). Highly recommended. Rated PG-13.

In Life is Beautiful (1997), when a Jewish librarian and his son are sent to a concentration camp, the father uses humor and imagination to help his son survive, pretending that the Holocaust is a game, with a grand prize of winning a tank. Winner of an Academy Award. Rated PG-13.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) – with an impressive all-star cast including Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, and Marlene Dietrich – is the story of the post-war trial of four accused Nazi war criminals. Not rated.

From Teach with Movies, see Judgment at Nuremberg for teaching suggestions, research projects, and discussion questions. The site recommends the film for ages 10 and up.

Conspiracy (2001) is a brilliant and chilling portrayal of the Wannsee Conference of 1942 in which Nazi officials met to decide upon the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” with Kenneth Branagh as Reinhard Heydrich and Stanley Tucci as Adolf Eichmann. Beautifully done and utterly horrifying. Most of the action takes place around a conference table. It’s rated R, apparently for occasional bad language and drinking.

Schindler’s List (1993) is the story of industrialist Oskar Schindler, owner of a factory in German-occupied Poland, who gradually becomes horrified by Nazi policies, eventually turning his factory into a haven for Jews, and saving over a thousand from death at the Auschwitz concentration camp. It’s rated R for sex and violence.