Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46005 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

CHILLING...AND INSIGHTFUL!
"Genocide" is a powerul and saddening look at the Holocaust, "The Final Solution" by the Nazi evil to exterminate the Jewish race. With a fantastic narration by Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor, and a dramatic score by Elmer Bernstein, "Genocide" is both a documentary about the time when a lack of humanity almost eliminated an entire race from European soil, and a film that cries for people to remember the six million lives taken by the powers of evil. A must-see for all people! Grade: B+

Compelling Holocaust documentary
"Genocide" is a brief yet compelling documentary that traces the events leading to the extermination of the Jews during WW II in Europe. The documentary begins with a sobering reminder by the famous Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal to never forget the atrocities perpetrated by humans against humans during that dark period in history that has come to be known as the Shoah or Holocaust. Viewers are initially shown the vibrant social life led by the Jews in Europe, especially in cities such as Warsaw in Poland. The documentary is fast-paced, and due to the short running time, about 83 mins, does not cover all the events in depth, but still makes for a compelling watch.

Narrated by both Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor, there is a sense of urgency in their narration that mirrors the desperation that the trapped Jews of Europe felt at that time. The most riveting aspect of this documentary for me was the heartwrenching eyewitness testimonies by survivors of the massacres at Babi Yar in the Ukraine, and also the Eishyshok massacre in Lithuania. These testimonies (as read by Elizabeth Taylor) coupled with the graphic photographs of Nazi brutalities made this quite an emotional viewing experience for me (as it is each time I watch a Holocaust drama or documentary). There is also an animated segment in this documentary based on the poem "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" by Pavel Friedman, who was incarcerated in Theresienstadt during WW II.

It's a pity that the DVD of this documentary has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I believe that it would be a good teaching resource for high school to college age history students. It's still available as a rental on online DVD rental sites.