Holocaust (1978– )

The saga of a Jewish family's struggle to survive the horror of Nazi Germany's systematic marginalization and extermination of their community.

Stars:

Joseph Bottoms, Tovah Feldshuh, Rosemary Harris

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 15 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Joseph Bottoms	...	Rudi Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Helena Slomova (4 episodes, 1978)
Rosemary Harris	...	Berta Palitz Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
Tony Haygarth	...	Heinz Muller (4 episodes, 1978)
Michael Moriarty	...	Erik Dorf (4 episodes, 1978)
Deborah Norton	...	Marta Dorf (4 episodes, 1978)
George Rose	...	Franz Lowy (4 episodes, 1978)
Robert Stephens	...	Uncle Kurt Dorf (4 episodes, 1978)
Sam Wanamaker	...	Moses Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
David Warner	...	Heydrich (4 episodes, 1978)
Fritz Weaver	...	Dr. Josef Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
James Woods	...	Karl Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
Charles Korvin	...	Dr. Kohn (4 episodes, 1978)
Stanley Lebor	...	Zalman (4 episodes, 1978)
Käte Jaenicke	...	Frau Lowy (4 episodes, 1978)
Tom Bell	...	Adolf Eichmann (3 episodes, 1978)
Meryl Streep	...	Inga Helms Weiss (3 episodes, 1978)
John Bailey	...	Hans Frank (3 episodes, 1978)
Michael Beck	...	Hans Helms (3 episodes, 1978)
T.P. McKenna	...	Blobel (3 episodes, 1978)
Cyril Shaps	...	Weinberg (3 episodes, 1978)
Ian Holm	...	Heinrich Himmler (2 episodes, 1978)
Lee Montague	...	Uncle Sasha (2 episodes, 1978)
Isolde Barth	...	Eva (2 episodes, 1978)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Karp (2 episodes, 1978)
Peter Garell	...	Yuri (2 episodes, 1978)
Werner Kreindl	...	Herr Helms (2 episodes, 1978)
Martin Brandt	...	Rabbi Karsh (2 episodes, 1978)
Edward Gilkrist	...	Peter Dorf - teen (2 episodes, 1978)
Courtney Hill	...	Laura Dorf - teen (2 episodes, 1978)
Nina Sandt	...	Frau Helms (2 episodes, 1978)
Blanche Baker	...	Anna Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
Götz von Langheim	...	Berlin Doctor (2 episodes, 1978)
Jeremy Levy	...	Aaron Feldman (2 episodes, 1978)
Miriam Mahler	...	Woman with Infant (2 episodes, 1978)
Walter Scheuer	...	Prague Policeman (2 episodes, 1978)
Irene Prador	...	Maria Kalova (2 episodes, 1978)
George Pravda	...	Otto Felscher (2 episodes, 1978)
Bruno Thost	...	Kapo Melnick (2 episodes, 1978)
Joe Trummer	...	Czech Jew (2 episodes, 1978)
Murray Salem	...	Analavitz (2 episodes, 1978)
Gabor Vernon	...	Rabbi Samuel (2 episodes, 1978)
Peter Vogel	...	Emil Frey (2 episodes, 1978)
Peter Weihs	...	Sacristan (2 episodes, 1978)
Marius Goring	...	Heinrich Palitz (2 episodes, 1978)
Kathina Kaiser	...	Sarah Ohlnick (2 episodes, 1978)

Storyline

"Holocaust" follows each member of the Jewish Family Weiss throughout Hitler's reign in Germany. One by one, the family members suffer the horrible fate of extermination under Anti-Semetic Nazi Law until only one son remains at the end of World War II. A sub-plot follows the story of Eric Dorf, a young German lawyer with a good heart who is changed into a mass murderer by membership in the SS.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | germany | lawyer | doctor | piano | 

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Taglines:

The story of man's inhumanity to man.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Titus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

475 min 420 min (DVD) (2008) 448 min (DVD) (2008)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trevor Howard was offered the Marius Goring part.

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Goofs

When Erik Dorf leaves his home to go to Heydrich's office on Crystal Night, he is wearing the insignia of an SS 2nd Lieutenant. When he shows up at the office, the insignia has changed to that of an SS 1st Lieutenant.

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Quotes

Lowy: You know? All this picking on the Jews. What did we ever do to them? All that business about killing Christ. That was a long time ago.
Dr. Josef Weiss: I suspect the Nazis could care less about Christ or His teachings, but then I'm no theologian. I'm just a general practitioner.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads (1979)

User Reviews

Outstanding Miniseries

NBC's Holocaust is perhaps the finest miniseries I've seen on television. I purchased the two VHS set several years ago and watch it at least once a year over several nights. Holocaust features a large, excellent cast, which make up for emotion which they lack in depth. Sadly, the stories are all too familiar and have presented in one form or another, but what makes this series stand out is the fact that it was able to compress time and feature some of the best known events of the holocaust, such as Babi Yar, Sobibor and Warsaw Ghetto, seamlessly. The dual story lines tracking the Jewish Weiss family and the German Dorff family intertwine believably, and the graphic violence is appropriate for this production. Michael Moriarty was excellent as the meek lawyer who became a cold calculator and Rosemary Harris was memorable as the proud but stubborn Berta Weiss. Meryl Streep and James Woods also are noteworthy, and it's a delight to see both actors in early roles. I recall when Holocaust debuted it became a media event and school project, with study guides for classroom discussion. I wonder if some of the material was appropriate for some young audiences.