Movie Portrayals of the Holocaust

The Holocaust occurred in the wake of the Second World War. As such, many films have been produced that attempt to depict the horrific scenes that happened during this period. Despite the fact that some anti-Nazi moves had been released much earlier, it is critical to note that were not familiar until after 1961, after the trial of one of the key Nazi figures, Adolf Eichmann. 1 His public trial served as astonishing news to the entire world regarding the harsh realities of the Holocaust. Following his trial, Russia made their archives from the war open hence revealing evidence about the Holocaust to the public. The result was that new information about the Holocaust flooded the world with many films, documentaries, and Hollywood blockbusters have since been released on the subject. It is however imperative to note that each genre of film offered its unique insight into the horrific incidences perpetrated against the Jewish population in the course of the Second World War. 

The Holocaust claimed led to the death of almost six million European Jews. Therefore, this offers a heavy sense of burden and responsibility on the filmmaker who is required to be respectful of their representations. One of the key concerns in the creation of these films is the risk of dishonoring the dead or depicting disrespectful scenes. As such, three important rules have always guided filmmakers in this regard. One of the rules is that the Holocaust must always be treated as a special and unique event in the history of the world. 2 Secondly, the events depicted in the film should reflect the true events that occurred in reality with no issues of manipulation. Finally, the Holocaust should strictly be treated as a sacred and a solemn event. The rules have therefore ensured that the Holocaust films are respectful and contain representations that are non-offensive. However, some filmmakers have however broken these three rules in an attempt to shape what their viewers would expect to see. 3 Therefore, this has led to many differences and similarities in various Holocaust films. Taking into consideration the following movies: ‘'Inglorious Bastards,'' ‘'The Zookeepers Wife,'' ‘'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,'' ‘'Sophie Choice,'' and ‘'Schindlers List,'' the essay will compare and contrast the films with regards to their portrayal of Holocaust. Also, it will analyze what such films entailed for the people who lived at this time. 

‘’ Schindler’s List’’ is a film that features the life of a German businessman known as Oskar Schindler. In this film, the concept of Holocaust in the movie is depicted through his heroics as he managed to save the lives of many Jews totaling to 1100 during the Holocaust when he decided to employ all of them in his factory. The film ‘'Inglorious Bastards'' on the other hand focuses on vengeance as the main way of representing Holocaust. Lieutenant Aldo Raine is the leader of the Basterds who had occupied France, and their main aim is to launch terror attacks on as many Nazis as possible. ‘'The Zookeeper's Wife'' differs from the two films because it attempts to give the story from an animal perspective showing how they were disturbed in the wake of German's attack of the city of Warsaw in Poland. It, therefore, attempts to go against the conventional belief that it is only humans who suffered from the wrath the Holocaust but also the animals. 4 ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’’ on its part was a reflection of the broader society during the Holocaust. It was common knowledge that the Nazis did not get along well with the Jews because the former viewed the latter an inferior race. However, in the course of the Second World War, an 8-year-old boy by the name Bruno goes beyond the societal dogma to form a friendship with a Jewish boy of a similar age. ‘’Sophie’s Choice’’ is more inclined towards revealing the effects of the Holocaust especially after Germany’s invasion of Poland. The film employs some somber themes to depict the difficult period including mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorders and schizophrenia, pathological love affairs, and imprisonments among others. 

One of the similarities that cut across the most of the Holocaust films is their motive of storytelling. It is critical to note that the theme of Holocaust has become a central part of the modern history, but the only problem that exists is the difficulty in recounting and retelling the events in a manner that would appeal to the contemporary generations. Therefore, most filmmakers would cherish the idea of appealing to emotion in an attempt to draw the audience into the atrocious events that occurred during this particular time. In ‘'Schindler's List,'' the Jews are depicted as underdogs and endangered people who are in dire need of help. They are further represented as dark, short, helpless, and passive people who require help. Emotional appeal is also a major theme in ‘’Inglorious Basterds’’ especially through the level and nature of atrocities committed against the Jews in the film. Jewish soldiers commit acts of retribution against the Nazis notably by taking off their scalps. With a combination of both animals and humans, ‘'The Zookeeper's Wife'' appeals to emotion in various ways. Through the course of the war, the two dominant characters in the film, Jan, and Antonina go through enormous risk in an attempt to save their fellow Jews. Also, through the animals' expression in the zoo, the audience is given a glimpse of the fact that during atrocities, also animals have the capacity to bear a similar pain to that of humans. ‘'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'' elicits emotion in two ways. One by the use of children characters who innocently are not aware of the sociopolitical landscape and would want to form a friendship. Secondly, Bruno is unhappy and lonely and longs for a person of his age to share in his childhood dreams. ‘’Sophie’s Choice’’ depicts sympathy and emotional appeal especially when Sophie's father becomes paternalistic and patronizing against her. She is further critical of his father's anti-Semitic beliefs. 

So as to access the difference between the films, it is critical to appreciate some of the motivations beyond the filmmaker in producing the movies. Steven Spielberg, the director of ‘'Schindler's List,' show a close relationship to the victims of the Holocaust. Their personal tie is one factor that has led to the creation of the film to reveal some of the difficulties and inhumane tendencies of this period. In one of his interviews regarding the ‘'Schindlers List,'' Spielberg asserts that he was raised in an unorthodox Jewish family and his grandparents' relatives died in Eastern Europe during the Holocaust. His father was also a survivor of Holocaust and that his family members were murdered during this period. However, on analysis of ‘'Inglorious Basterds,'' the director Quentin Tarantino did not have major ties with the Holocaust victims. 5 Aware that the Holocaust movies always have the Jews as victims, his inspiration was drawn out of the fact that he wanted to create something different from the conventional, something that would also expose the fears of the German Nazis during the Holocaust. ‘'The Zookeeper's Wife'' is an inspiration from a book with the same title written by Dianna Ackerman. 6 The producer adopted a similar theme where two characters, Jan and Antonina, keepers of the zoo do all that is in their ability to help the Jews from the impending danger posed to them by the Nazis. A similar scenario occurs in ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’’ where the film’s director Mark Herman bases his events using a novel with a similar name that was written by John Boyne. As such, there is no real life account in these two films as seen in the ‘’Schindler’s List’’ nor is there any direct link between the producers of the movies and the victims of the grisly events that occurred during the Second World War. A similar trend is also seen with ‘’Sophie’s Choice’’ where the director, Alan Pakula adopts her story from a novel that bore the same name and was written by William Styron. 

‘’ Schindler’s List’’ can be regarded as a biopic film that represents the events that transpired during the Holocaust. 7 A biopic film is that which focuses on the individual contributions of an individual in the course of a historical event. The person is central to the historical processes and makes them worthy of studying their lives and actions. In this film, the person who is put under intense focus is Oskar Schindler. His actions did well to save the lives of many Jews during the Holocaust therefore making him an interesting individual to illuminate in the film. A similar aspect is employed in the film ‘'The Zookeeper's Wife'' where the focus is one Jan and Antonina who assist the victim of the Holocaust by hiding them in the zoo. Therefore, this makes the two individuals important people study due to their noble and courageous actions during the Second World War. The third film that follows a similar fashion is ‘'Sophie's Choice'' where the main character Sophie Zawistowska resists her father's anti-Semitic sentiments and further rebels against the anti-Jewish sentiments perpetrated by her father and the people who he supported. 8 However, the other two films, the ‘’Inglorious Basterds’’ and ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’’ do not follow the biopic film fashion. They do not employ the use of a character or a set of characters that can be centered on. The success of the movies in depicting the theme of Holocaust is based on their collective contributions. In ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'' although the focus is on the eight-year-old boy, it is through his family and the outside experiences happening that help in shaping the theme of the Holocaust. Similarly, in the ‘'Inglorious Basterds,'' a group of Jewish soldiers combines to under the leadership of Lieutenant Also Raine to launch a massacre against the German soldiers. Therefore, it would be right to assert that there is no single point of focus on the characters because it is as a result of their combined effort that they accomplish the Holocaust theme. 

Four films including the ‘’Schindler’s List,’’ ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,’’ ‘’The Zookeeper’s Wife’’ and ‘’Sophie’s Choice’’ are common in one aspect that they are all classical Holocaust movies. A Holocaust film is conventionally regarded as that which conforms to the central dogma of the German’s during the Second World War, where the massacre was meted against the Jews by the Nazis. Historically, this is regarded the truth of the matter because it was the predominant way in which the massacres unfolded. Naturally, the Nazis were many and hard a militia under the leadership of the erratic Adolf Hitler who had an in-depth hatred towards the Jews. Therefore, it is obvious that most films would represent the Holocaust as a one-sided affair where the Germans were always in dominance. The hallmarks of the four films include anti-Semitism, violence towards the Jews, hatred, and invasion of the Jews. However, one move that attempts to break this central dogma is the ‘’Inglorious Basterds.’’ In this case, the Jewish are the ones who are attacking the Germans. It goes against the usual style by attempting to give another perspective of the events that occurred in during the Holocaust. 9 It would be foolhardy to believe that the Nazi was so weak that they would only be attacked and remain silent. It is natural there were a few who would have made attempts to revenge. Therefore, through an act of retribution ‘’Inglorious Basterds’’ is a film that attempts to give us a different or rather forgotten view of the events of the Holocaust and allows people to appreciate some of the Jews efforts in fighting for what they felt was right. 

In revealing the theme of Holocaust, the films attempt to display an elevated amount of self-sacrifice that people had to pass through to ensure that the events did not happen or that lives would be protected. It is common knowledge that this was a time of war and therefore life was at stake. The Jews were targets of an ambitious Germany that wanted to assert their dominance as they approached the Second World War. In Schindler's List, he is depicted as a profiteer who only saved the Jews so that he could enrich themselves by the sweat of their labor in the factories. However, as the film proceeds, he turns into a complete humanitarian whose main aim is to save the lives of the people. He uses much of his wealth to corrupt the Nazi officials to give him 1100 Jewish people to work for him in his factory, therefore, preventing them from the prospect of death. 10 He transforms from a profiteer because he is determined to apply the norms and values that had been thrown away by the society. Largely using the position of the animals, ‘'The Zookeeper’s Wife’’ characters explain how their animals, which they had dearly spent their lives taking care of, are maimed and killed as a result of the Holocaust invasion of Poland by the Nazi. As such, sacrifice is endured both at the human and animal level. In ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,’’ the film begins with a quote saying ‘’childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.’’ 11 During the Holocaust period, Bruno, the child is forced to cut social ties hence sacrificing on his friendship to conform to the general social and political landscape especially as a result of the tension between the Nazi and the Jews. He is therefore forbidden from doing several things among them playing and socializing with others. In ‘'Sophie's Choice,'' she has to endure a similar level of sacrifice which causes her to fall out with his father who supports the Holocaust endeavors perpetrated by the Germans. In ‘'Inglorious Basterds'' the Jews soldiers have to go against the odds and launch an attack against the Germans. They show sacrifice in their commitment despite the fact that they are few and less experienced. 

One of the most common characteristics of most Holocaust films is the general portrayal of the Jews and the Nazis. In many scenarios, the Jewish victims are usually feminized while the German perpetrators are portrayed merciless and merciless. 12 This can be regarded as a true representation because during the Holocaust the Jews were largely powerless and lived at the mercy of the Nazi soldiers. However, it is for the filmmakers to decide the extent to which they show such representations. However, they are also free to depict characters that attempt to go against this convention portrayal. Four of the five films discussed represent the Nazis as formidable and cruel at the same time. In ‘'Schindler's List'' the commander of the Krakow-Plaszow known as Amon Goeth I the main focus of attention with regards power. He is not only cruel but also an emotionally detached individual. In one of the instances, he wakes up and goes to the balcony and takes a rifle and subsequently begins aiming at the Jews. In ‘’Sophie’s Choice’’ and ‘’The Zookeeper’s Wife’’ the movies also emphasize on the Nazi’s cruelty and how they asserted their dominance over the Jews as seen with the invasion of Poland. In ‘’The Boy in the stripped Pajamas'' the cruelty is revealed through the in-depth mistrust between the two factions. The only difference is seen in the ‘'Inglorious Basterds'' where the cruelty and domination of power flow from the Jews to the Germans as seen with the retribution. 

In conclusion, the Holocaust movies depict the atrocities and massacres perpetrated by the Nazi against the Jews. Such films have utilized various themes and styles that reflect the scenes that took place during the time. Some of the similarities in these movies include their portrayal of the Nazi and Jews, violence, atrocities, the use of a central heroic character among others. Some of the notable differences include the motive of the filming, nature of violence, and the direction of the aggression with regards to the Nazis or the Jews. As this is one of the most critical parts of history, filmmakers must remain conscious of their depiction and representation to avoid the prospect of insensitivity. Finally, the portrayals of the Holocaust also assist the readers to get a scope of what the lives of people in this were all about such as violence, social boundaries, invasions, and racism among others. 

Bibliography 

Ackerman, Diane.  The Zookeeper's Wife: An unforgettable true story, now a major film . Hachette UK, 2013. 

Adams, Jenni, and Sue Vice, eds.  Representing perpetrators in Holocaust literature and film . Vallentine Mitchell, 2013. 

Artiquez, Belen. "Animal holocaust in film: researching the difference in animal welfare in film from 1903 to 2013 with regard to the work of the American Humane Association, established in 1943." (2013). 

Gray, Michael. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A blessing or curse for Holocaust education?"  Holocaust Studies  20, no. 3 (2014): 109-136. 

Haltof, Marek.  Polish Film and the Holocaust: Politics and Memory . Berghahn Books, 2012. 

Kligerman, Eric. "Inglourious Basterds, The Sorrow arid the Pity, and Jewish revenge fantasies."  Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds: A Manipulation of Metacinema  (2012): 135. 

Lackey, Michael. "The Scandal of Jewish Rage in William Styron's Sophie's Choice."  Journal of Modern Literature  39, no. 4 (2016): 85-103. 

McGee, Patrick.  Bad History and the Logics of Blockbuster Cinema: Titanic, Gangs of New York, Australia, Inglourious Basterds . Springer, 2012. 

Metzger, Scott Alan. "The borders of historical empathy: Students encounter the Holocaust through film."  Journal of Social Studies Research  36, no. 4 (2012): 387-410. 

Pinchevski, Amit. "The audiovisual unconscious: Media and trauma in the video archive for Holocaust testimonies."  Critical Inquiry  39, no. 1 (2012): 142-166. 

Shandler, Jeffrey. "Holocaust Survivors on Schindler’s List; or, Reading a Digital Archive against the Grain."  American Literature  85, no. 4 (2013): 1-29. 

Spielberg, Steven.  Testimony: The Legacy of Schindler's List and the USC Shoah Foundation . Harper Collins, 2014. 

1 Pinchevski, Amit. "The audiovisual unconscious: Media and trauma in the video archive for Holocaust testimonies."  Critical Inquiry  39, no. 1 (2012): 142-166. 

2 Metzger, Scott Alan. "The borders of historical empathy: Students encounter the Holocaust through film."  Journal of Social Studies Research  36, no. 4 (2012): 387-410. 

3 Haltof, Marek.  Polish Film and the Holocaust: Politics and Memory . Berghahn Books, 2012. 

4 Artiquez, Belen. "Animal holocaust in the film: researching the difference in animal welfare in film from 1903 to 2013 with regard to the work of the American Humane Association, established in 1943." (2013). 

5 McGee, Patrick.  Bad History and the Logics of Blockbuster Cinema: Titanic, Gangs of New York, Australia, Inglourious Basterds . Springer, 2012. 

6 Ackerman, Diane.  The Zookeeper's Wife: An unforgettable true story, now a major film . Hachette UK, 2013. 

7 Spielberg, Steven.  Testimony: The Legacy of Schindler's List and the USC Shoah Foundation . Harper Collins, 2014. 

8 Lackey, Michael. "The Scandal of Jewish Rage in William Styron's Sophie's Choice."  Journal of Modern Literature  39, no. 4 (2016): 85-103. 

9 Kligerman, Eric. "Inglourious Basterds, The Sorrow arid the Pity, and Jewish revenge fantasies."  Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds: A Manipulation of Metacinema  (2012): 135. 

10 Shandler, Jeffrey. "Holocaust Survivors on Schindler’s List; or, Reading a Digital Archive against the Grain."  American Literature  85, no. 4 (2013): 1-29. 

11 Gray, Michael. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A blessing or curse for Holocaust education?"  Holocaust Studies  20, no. 3 (2014): 109-136. 

12 Adams, Jenni, and Sue Vice, eds.  Representing perpetrators in Holocaust literature and film . Vallentine Mitchell, 2013.