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Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution

2005 Ended 60m episodes

7.6/10 199 votes

DocumentaryCrimeWar & Politics

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

Cast:: Linda Ellerbee, Linda Hunt, Samuel West, Linda Ellerbee
Language:: English
Country:: United Kingdom, United States of America
Network:: BBC Two

Episode guide

Seasons

2 available

Miniseries

Episodes

Episode 1 selected

E01

Episode 1

★ 7.7

Surprising Beginnings

2005-01-11 · 60m

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.

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E02

Episode 2

★ 7.7

Orders and Initiatives

2005-01-18 · 60m

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.

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E03

Episode 3

★ 8.0

Factories of Death

2005-01-25 · 60m

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.

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E04

Episode 4

★ 8.0

Corruption

2005-02-01 · 60m

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.

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E05

Episode 5

★ 8.3

Frenzied Killing

2005-02-08 · 60m

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?

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E06

Episode 6

★ 8.5

Liberation and Revenge

2005-02-15 · 60m

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.

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