Customer Reviews

Death Camps [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every history-social studies teacher is given the almost impossible task of describing to students things which we have not personally seen. The challenge of teaching the Holocaust becomes even greater, because most people cannot begin to imagine the horrors let alone the mind that could conceive them. Our challenge as educators is not to just to communicate the concept, it is to provide understanding. Once the process of understanding has begun, our task is then to help students deal with it.

To do this in any real manner is next to impossible. Hollywood has tried to depict the events but falls far short. This is not Hollywood's fault. The Holocaust is too vast, far beyond description, and just how far is in some small way shown in this film.

The footage comes from the official film record taken by Allied Forces in Europe. Labelled "The Death Camps," the film documents not only some of the smaller camps, but some of the other institutions of mass murder. Living survivors, like walking skeletons with terror in their eyes along with the callousness of the Germans is all there. Bergen-Belsen is beyond description.

Auschwitz is not included because it was captured by the Russians. The film record of Auschwitz is, retrettably, scant. The film is in black and white and has precious little narration. Only one clip with a voice recording. The images are as dispassionately shown as possible.

Clearly, this video is shocking and graphic. It is not for the faint at heart, but it is mandatory viewing for any history-social studies educator. Since 1945, there have been more than a dozen attempted genocides. This is a lesson that must be learned if we are going to survive as a species.

This is not just a video. It is a historical archive of one of the greatest horrors the world has ever seen.

I'm a fifteen year old student in high school and our teacher let us watch a portion of this video after reading Elie Wiesel's "Night". It definately helped me get a better understanding of the death camps. As a student it is hard to understand and believe that this type of inhumane activity happened, but after getting a visual of the mass graves and the diseased, hungry, mistreated people it gave us the right impression.

Seeing this film for the first time was not exactly an easy thing to get through. Watching the torcher at first hand is alot easier to understand then a teacher trying to explain it (not saying they do a bad job). This film gives you an upclose + personal look at life as a prisoner in one of the death camps. It also gives you a tour of some of them, and you'll be surprised how many there were, not only the famous ones like Auswitz. I can't express enough the fact that its not an easy film to get through, but its one that everyone in this world should see, everyone should know what they went through, and everyone should know and be sure to see that something like this will never happen again.
--My Prayers to all those who not only died, but who survived to tell the tale of the Holocaust--

**And i really recomend this film**

This is a film that should be shown to teenagers. It is not done professionally, but by the soldiers who were there. Some of the names of the camps were not known to me, but were just as horrible as the well-known camps. This is a lesson that should never be forgotten.

Watching the Death Camps is not easy. I teach the representations of the Holocaust in Film and TV (for which I wanted this tape) and thought I had pretty much become used to these images. Nope. This is the original 60 minute newsreel which was circulated to US cinemas between 1945-47 and gives a no-holds-barred visual record of the liberation of the camps. I thank the distributor for making this material accessable, although I am concerned about their motives: I Googled the company who released this, and they tend to produce WWII top naval aircraft crashes, or cool planes of the SS - that kind of video. I felt a bit woozy wondering if the distributors of this video see it as a kind of extreme (but legal, 'for historical interest') snuff film....

Is one of the best documentals of The Holocaust that I see. I hope that someday the producers do a DVD edition. If you have experince in seeing this kind of film, you are going to enjoy the film (for historical reason and knowledge)If this is the first documental on the theme that you are going to see is going to shock you.

All Americans need to see this chilling video to be reminded of the evil that men can do to others. Many people doubt that this ever happened but these films are the history of this time as it happened. These are military films that do not hide the truth.

If you can watch his without being changed you have no conscience.

Various film clips, taken at the end of WWII, exposing many of the Death Camps. Well narrated, graphic scenes. I am a history buff, and have read a great deal on this subject. Difficult to watch just the same. Film clips almost a " home movie" type quality though.

This movie should be rated "PG"...no one should be allowed to view this film without parental supervision and discuss movie content in the classroom; car or at home. The WWII scenes are very graphic.

The Military crew must of been put together quickly at the very last moment...before being ordered to shot this movie.

Today the owner of production studio (boss) should of fired everyone including: the Producer; Writer; Editor and camera man...all should of been fired on the spot. The film pictures quality is poor; no story line or plot; pictures are dark in some of the corners and it's not digital remastered. Look like someone made a boot leg copy of someone older copied found laying around the garage or someone's attic.

This movie does show pictures of General Patton and Suppreme Commander...and other Generals. But there is so little explaination or detail in dialog or story type written on the bottom of each picture frame of the film. That explain in plain English on what's really going on in these camps. If someone would have really done a outstanding job narrated this story it would of made this film a whole more meetingful. On another note the American film crew didn't liberate too many Nazi's Camps like the Russian did and that's what really missing in this film.

I personal have visted several Nazi's Prison camps myself; research Nazi's Prison Camp stories; now I can say just go to your well DVD stock favorite Library like my own local Willard Library (surf the net for it)and check out free DVD films and you will now find much more information on the internet then this VHS Tape: "Death Camps" has to offer.