Rabbi Stephen Wise addresses a crowd at a rally outside Madison Square Garden.
Library of Congress
WITF Replay: “The U.S. and the Holocaust” from Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein
Three-part documentary explores the role of Americans before, during and after the Holocaust
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Christina Zeiders
Library of Congress
Rabbi Stephen Wise addresses a crowd at a rally outside Madison Square Garden.
Watch the three-part documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, on WITF TV or the PBS Video app Livestream on January 6, 13, and 20 at 9pm, or watch anytime with WITF Passport.
The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part documentary series from filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein that explores America’s response to one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises. The series originally premiered on WITF TV and other PBS stations in September 2022.
Combining first-person accounts of Holocaust witnesses and survivors and interviews with leading historians and writers, The U.S. and the Holocaust dispels competing myths that Americans were either ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews and other target minorities faced in Europe or were callously indifferent to the tragedy unfolding.
“At the center of our narrative is the moving and inspiring first-hand testimony of witnesses who were children in the 1930s,” said Botstein, a longtime producing partner of Burns and Novick who made her directorial debut on this film. “They share wrenching memories of the persecution, violence and flight that they and their families experienced … Their survival attests to the truth of the remark made by journalist Dorothy Thompson that ‘for thousands and thousands of people a piece of paper with a stamp on it is the difference between life and death.’”
The film series tackles a range of questions that remain essential today, including how racism influences policies related to immigration and refugees, as well as how governments and people respond to the rise of authoritarian leaders who manipulate history and facts to consolidate power.
Watch the rebroadcast of the series on WITF TV or the PBS Video app Livestream over the course of three Fridays this January – January 6, 13, and 20 – at 9pm.
Part one – The Golden Door (Beginnings – 1938) – examines the xenophobic backlash that prompted Congress to reverse a history of open borders by restricting immigration. As Hitler and the Nazis persecute German Jews, many are forced to seek refuge. In the U.S., FDR is concerned by the growing crisis but is unable to coordinate a response. Watch The Golden Door on WITF TV or the PBS Video app Livestream on January 6 at 9pm.
Part two – Yearning to Breathe Free (1938 – 1942) – starts as World War II begins. Americans are divided over whether to intervene against Nazi Germany. Some individuals and organizations work tirelessly to help refugees escape as Germany invades the USSR and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews. Watch Yearning to Breathe Free (1938 – 1942) on WITF TV or the PBS Video app Livestream on January 13 at 9pm.
Part three – The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942 – ) – explores how a group of dedicated government officials fought red tape to support rescue operations. As the Allies liberate German camps, the sheer scale of the Holocaust became unavoidably evident, and Americans must reckon with its reverberations. Watch The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed on WITF TV and through the PBS Video app Livestream on January 20 at 9pm.
Stream the entire three-part documentary series on-demand by joining the WITF Passport streaming community. You’ll gain on-demand access to more of public television’s best documentaries and news programs. Plus, you’ll support the important news, education, and entertainment work WITF provides its neighborhood every day.
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