"Holocaust" (1978) TV mini-series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

16 April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Germany | Doctor | Lawyer | Anti Semitism

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Joseph Bottoms	...	Rudi Weiss (4 episodes, 1978)
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Helena Slomova (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)
Fritz Weaver	...	Dr. Josef 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)
Irene Prador	...	Maria Kalova (3 episodes, 1978)
Rosemary Harris	...	Berta Palitz Weiss (3 episodes, 1978)
Lee Montague	...	Uncle Sasha (3 episodes, 1978)
Isolde Barth	...	Eva (3 episodes, 1978)
Peter Garell	...	Yuri (3 episodes, 1978)
Jeremy Levy	...	Aaron Feldman / ... (3 episodes, 1978)
T.P. McKenna	...	Blobel (3 episodes, 1978)
Murray Salem	...	Analavitz (3 episodes, 1978)
Gabor Vernon	...	Rabbi Samuel (3 episodes, 1978)
John Bailey	...	Hans Frank (3 episodes, 1978)
Michael Beck	...	Hans Helms (3 episodes, 1978)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Karp (3 episodes, 1978)
Cyril Shaps	...	Weinberg (3 episodes, 1978)
Meryl Streep	...	Inga Helms Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
David Warner	...	Heydrich (2 episodes, 1978)
James Woods	...	Karl Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
John Rees	...	Colonel Arthur Nebe (2 episodes, 1978)
Peter Vogel	...	Emil Frey (2 episodes, 1978)
Rudolf Melichar	...	Anton (2 episodes, 1978)
Elvira Neustaedtl	...	Auschwitz Kapo (2 episodes, 1978)
Martin Brandt	...	Rabbi Karsh (2 episodes, 1978)
Vera Borek	...	Nadya (2 episodes, 1978)
David Daker	...	Rudolf Hoess (2 episodes, 1978)
Werner Kreindl	...	Herr Helms (2 episodes, 1978)
Wolfgang Leisowsky	...	Engleman (2 episodes, 1978)
Götz von Langheim	...	Berlin Doctor (2 episodes, 1978)
Miriam Mahler	...	Woman with Infant (2 episodes, 1978)
Jan Odle	...	Aaron's Classmate (2 episodes, 1978)
Nina Sandt	...	Frau Helms (2 episodes, 1978)
Walter Scheuer	...	Prague Policeman (2 episodes, 1978)
Toby Salaman	...	Kovel (2 episodes, 1978)
Joe Trummer	...	Czech Jew (2 episodes, 1978)
Peter Weihs	...	Sacristan (2 episodes, 1978)
Blanche Baker	...	Anna Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)

Also Known As:

Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

475 min | USA:420 min (DVD) (2008) | Finland:448 min (DVD) (2008)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2008) (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Titus Productions

Trivia:

Some Holocaust survivors have criticized the portrayal of Dr. Weiss after he becomes a prisoner of Auschwitz, because his character is portrayed as working on road gangs and paving crews. Jewish doctors in Auschwitz were almost always assigned to the camp infirmary and placed in the moral dilemma of serving under German doctors. These Jewish doctors endured an "agony of conscience" as they were ordered to help prevent the spread of disease from Jewish inmates to German captors, and also participate in medical experiments and, in some cases, even selections for the gas chambers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the Einsatzgruppen executions in Russia, Arthur Nebe is shown as an SS-Colonel. When these executions took place (fall 1941), the real Nebe would already have been an SS-Major General.

Quotes:

[Scene of Karl's arrest]
German Police Officer: A few hours questioning and he'll be home.
Karl Weiss: I'm ready now.
Inga Helms Weiss: No. No, I know about this routine questioning. I know about visits to the police station. People go and they don't come back.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads (#4.11)" (1979)

You can forgive...

...but you must not forget.

Chomsky's "Holocaust" stands as the best mini-series ever made in my book .The performances are uniformly good,from Meryl Streep to Joseph Bottoms and from James Wood to David Warner.All have to be praised.

The actors were so involved Michael Moriarty (who portrays Erik Dorf) said that he cried after playing the Xmas party scene .Marta Dorf (Deborah Norton) epitomizes the Neo-Nazi we may encounter even today:she never believed that her husband was wrong "let's light a candle for his soul ,children" and she never will ,whereas Dorf perhaps understood his crimes when he saw the photographs in the American officer's office.

"Holocaust" is full of great scenes ,but I think it should be reserved for students over 12,because some moments are unbearable .It should be shown in every secondary school in the world.A deeply moving sequence shows Berta Weiss (the marvelous Rosemary Harris) saying goodbye to her pupils :she urges them to become educated persons ;she leaves them with sweet memories of "the taming of the shrew" and with a song she could not even sing one last time with them.

If you should see only one mini-series,it would have to be this one.A must.