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The Holocaust was one of the most traumatic periods that man has ever collectively faced. During the mid-20th century, approximately six million European Jews were killed by Germany and its collaborators. The Germans under Hitler’s Nazi party made a sport of hunting Jews, going so far as devising ingenious methods to maximize the torture extended to the captives. This potent tsunami of hate crept into all facets of life, sparing no Jew, irrespective of age and gender.
Update September 24, 2023: This article has been updated with even more haunting films that tackle the Holocaust to make sure we never forget it.
A lot of art was born out of this traumatic experience. Films were made, and plays were written. But in the larger scheme of things, every form of art falls short in recreating the nightmare the Jews of the time went through, with the following films coming as close as possible. These films are a reminder of one of the darkest period in human history and a reminder as to never forget and also never allow this to happen again.
13 Amen (2002)
Amen, by Academy Award-winning director Costas Gavras, thematically stands apart from the run-of-mill Holocaust films. Rather than focusing on the horrors faced by the Jews directly, the film focuses on a chemist turned SS officer and his relationship with a priest after he finds out one of his disinfectants is used to exterminate Jews.
Amen is adapted from a play called The Deputy, which revolves around Pope Pius XII’s failure to speak out against the Germans and the Holocaust. Gavras approaches the subject as a political thriller, choosing to focus on the effects of war on a few good men who find themselves in a position of power.
12 God on Trial (2008)
In one of the most poignant and gripping explorations of the Holocaust, God on Trial offers a unique and devastating look at a group of Jewish prisoners awaiting their inevitable fates while at Auschwitz, as the barrack mates begin a heartbreaking and impassioned debate on why God would allow them to experience such unfathomable suffering. The powerful British picture is adapted from the Eli Wiesel play and was based on the Holocaust survivor's first-hand account of his time at Auschwitz and Buchenwald and the horrors he witnessed firsthand.
God on Trial features phenomenal performances by lead stars including Joseph Alessi, Rupert Graves, and Antony Sher, and garnered widespread acclaim when it premiered on the BBC in 2008; 700,000 viewers tuned in to watch the thought-provoking drama, moving audiences with its bold and unapologetic storytelling.
11 Kapo (1960)
Kapo, translates to a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who is given food and other privileges in return for supervising over other prisoners. The film follows a 14-year-old girl called Edith (Susan Strasberg), who is uprooted from her comfortable existence in Paris and transported into a concentration camp. Edith chances upon the opportunity to assume the identity of a prisoner instead of a Jew, earning her some respite and privilege. Interestingly, Strasberg also enacted the title role in the original Broadway production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” making the transition from the stage to the screen feel more serendipitous and natural.
10 Son of Saul (2015)
Chronicling the valiant and heart-wrenching efforts Hungarian Sonderkommando member Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig) goes to in order to give a young boy a proper burial while at Auschwitz, Son of Saul focuses on the prisoner as he dangerously attempts to locate a rabbi so the child can receive a Jewish internment. Amid talks of a daring uprising against SS guards, Ausländer remains steadfast on his quest to do right by the innocent boy and give him a send-off into the afterlife, risking his own life to do so.
Lauded for its harrowing screenplay and striking look at the senseless evil the Holocaust inflicted, Son of Saul premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the Golden Globe, becoming the first Hungarian movie to take home the accolade.
9 The Grey Zone (2001)
Based on Dr. Miklós Nyiszli’s terrifying book Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account, The Grey Zone follows a group of Sonderkommandos who plan a rebellion with the help of Polish Partisans. Sonderkommandos were essentially prisoners that were assigned the task of disposing of dead bodies. Having better quarters and living facilities than the other prisoners, the group was often looked up to for help by the Jews, which placed them in a moral dilemma since their position and life span as a Sonderkommando wasn’t certain as well.
Every few months, the old group was sent to a gas chamber and replaced by a new group. The film portrays one such revolt by the Sonderkommandos that took place in Auschwitz, where a group of prisoners blew up one of the gas chambers, leading to chaos and catastrophe.
8 Europa Europa (1990)
A beautiful tale of the loss of innocence, Europa Europa throws light on the human spirit of survival through the eyes of a small Jewish teenager named Salek. As Nazism thrives throughout the country, Salek’s family flees Germany, though the young boy gets separated from his family and finds himself in an orphanage. Soon, the Germans arrive at the orphanage, and by some chance, Salek convinces them that he’s of Aryan descent, converting hate into admiration in the eyes of the Germans. The young boy then becomes an interpreter, joins Hitler’s Youth, and falls in love with Lena, a hard-core anti-Semite. A tale of brutality, love, and destiny, Europa Europa is one of the classics of the Holocaust.
7 Conspiracy (2001)
Providing a chilling and deeply unsettling examination into the psychology and mind frame of Nazi officials as they meet at the Wannsee Conference in 1942 to discuss the "Final Solution of the Jewish question," the made-for-television drama Conspiracy stars Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci as SS-Obergruppenführers Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann, who must change the minds of a group of men who are opposed to the idea of mass extermination in order to move forward with their abominable agenda.
The disquieting picture utilized the authentic transcript taken from the history-defining meeting, adding to the ominous and startling nature of the drama and its overall emotional impact. Conspiracy received numerous accolades like a Peabody Award, two Primetime Emmys, and a Golden Globe Award, and currently holds an impressive 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics score.
6 Life is Beautiful (1997)
While some films about the Holocaust are dark, Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful is an accurate representation of what the title suggests. In his efforts to lessen the impact of the darkness of war, a loving Jewish father creates a series of make-believe games to protect his son from the horrors of life in a concentration camp. The film metaphorically highlights the spirit of life and the need for one to always look at the bright side of things, even and especially when everything seems wrong.
5 Downfall (2004)
Downfall revolves around Hitler’s last few days before his alleged suicide. The film realistically documents Hitler through his various phases of denial and resentment, ultimately culminating in helplessness and acceptance. Downfall is mostly set in Hitler’s underground bunker, a contrast to the exuberance which the dictator was once known for. Downfall is a bittersweet watch, capturing a man’s descent from grace. But once the realization kicks in that the man in question is directly responsible for the eradication of an entire race, empathy turns into vengeance.
4 The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Widely regarded as one of the most inspiring and affecting pictures of the twentieth century, The Diary of Anne Frank recounts the celebrated diarist's terrifying experience hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during World War II with her family as the Franks find refuge in the attic of a shopkeeper Mr. Kraler. Millie Perkins was outstanding as the courageous Anne, who famously documented her experiences in hiding for two years until they were tragically captured by the Gestapo in 1944.
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, The Diary of Anne Frank won three Academy Awards and was revered for its moving and intimate depiction of the incomprehensible horrors not only the Franks but millions of other families faced during the devastating period in history.
3 Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008)
A testament to innocence and friendship, Boy In The Striped Pyjamas deals with themes where children are answerable for the repercussions of adults. In Bruno and Shmuel’s pure world, they aren’t aware of the hate or divide that’s placed them on opposing sides of the fence in a concentration camp. Bruno, the son of an SS officer, and Shmuel, a Jew, strike an innocent friendship that can cost them everything, including their lives.
2 The Pianist (2002)
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Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is arguably one of the most moving films about the holocaust. It is equal parts heartbreaking as it is shocking. Based on a Holocaust memoir by pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, the film masterfully highlights the life and trite many Polish Jews went through, irrespective of their position in society. Szpilman’s character was played by Adrien Brody, who delivered one of the best performances in modern-day acting, winning him an Oscar award at the young age of 29, making him the youngest actor to ever do so.
1 Schindler's List (1993)
Lauded as one of the greatest cinematic triumphs of all time, Steven Spielberg's World War II masterpiece Schindler's List captures the unfathomable horrors Polish-Jewish refugees endured as they were given life-saving employment by German industrialist Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust. The businessman and Nazi Party member courageously fought to prevent his workers from being deported to concentration camps, bribing Nazi officers to keep his people safe, which ultimately helped him save the lives of 1,200 Jews.
Schindler's List swept the Oscars, winning seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Spielberg, and remains one of the revered filmmaker's most personal and touching creations in his illustrious career. The Jewish community had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the drama, with the director's childhood rabbi calling the movie "Steven's gift to his mother, to his people, and in a sense to himself. Now he is a full human being."