Holocaust

Holocaust has to rank up there as one of the best mini-series' ever. It has to be up there with Roots and Band of Brothers as some of the best that t.v. has ever offered. Holocaust works because it puts the horror of Hitler's Third Reich in very personal terms in the way it was presented from two families' perspectives. The performances were done very well, the storyline was not only good but very entertaining. It kept me riveted to the t.v. when it was on. This didn't need to be graphic to get the story across on the horrors of naziism and what Jews went through. In fact being form one Jewish families perspective makes the holocaust itself that much more personal and up close. This was definitely must see t.v.

One of the most outstanding television mini-series that was ever made. Obviously, this won the Emmy for best mini-series and was truly well deserved.

The story deals with the Weiss Family of Germany. They thought that they were true Germans never believing that they would be caught up in the madness of Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Despite the warnings of Dr. Weiss's patient,Dorf, who quickly rises in the Nazi hierarchy, the Weiss Family remains in Germany as Hitler seized power and the nightmare for the Jewish people begins.

This series made stars of Michael Moriarty.(Dorf) He plays the character drawn into the Nazi party with a chilling unfeeling for humanity rarely seen in movies. Dorf would be the typical character who would have said that he was forced into doing what he did since he was caught up in this period of frenzy. His ambitious, evil wife also helped push him into this way of life. Meryl Streep and James Woods also became well known as a result of this masterpiece production.

Nothing was hidden in making this grand production. You see the kosher butcher stores fall victim to Kristallnacht-the night of breaking glass. You see victims being marched off to the gas chambers.

This was certainly movie making at its best. Even the mini-series of todays are lacking in contact, interest and boldness of production.

I remember watching this mini-series back in 1978. My husband was working nights at the time and I watched it alone. I was spellbound night after night! I will never forget the impact this movie had on me. I have often wished for the chance to see it again. At the time we did not have a VCR player to make a copy of it. I told my husband every day how much I wished he could have been there to see it and I felt that every American should have the opportunity, along with the duty, to see the movie. We SHOULD NEVER FORGET or LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN! I wish the movie would be re-broadcast, even if on a satellite channel. High school and college students should be required to view the movie. They would have a better understanding of why history should not be repeated and hopefully they would appreciate what being an American means in terms of their freedom from this type of oppression.

I have read the other comments and was suprised to see a few people thought it was "boring" or not as good as Schindler's List. I actually watched this years ago as a young teen and recall being enthralled because of course other than history class it wasn't widely discussed. I knew more than most because my best friend's father lost his parents in the camps. Certainly it bogged down in parts but there were some superb performances and especially from Micheal Moriarty as a weak man molded by both his wife and his acceptance into the Nazi Party. It turns out oddly enough that Moriarty really is a bit loony. I don't think network TV would have the guts to attempt something as ambitious now and I am not sure that viewer's would be able to pay attention for such a long time. Yes it is flawed but I would implore anybody to watch it.

Hindsight's wonderful, and it easy now to criticise this series. I saw it first in Germany and the effect it had there was quite profound. It caused a national debate and, it could be argued, helped Germany face up to what occurred between 1933 and 1945, not so much from the extermination camps, but that they, a civilised people, could be led along that path.