This is the story of the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. We follow it from the very beginning in 1940 until its liberation by Russian troops in January 1945. We also get a glimpse of the aftermath in the form of the Nuremberg trials and we follow the destiny of central figures in the extermination of Jews, Gypsys, Russian POWs and political prisoners from mainly Poland. One of the most unpleasant aspects of this story is that some of the survivors of the camps has lead a miserable life after the war as they were not welcomed by various reasons when they returned home. The series contains 6 episodes of about 45 minutes each. It is build up by interviews of former prisoners as well as a couple of guards. There is also extensive footage in the form of photography, film-clips and various documents.In an attempt to make the story come more alive the producers have also hired German actors to play out the role of central figures in Auschwitz; Rudolf Höss, Adolf Eichman, Heinrich Himmler and Dr. Joseph Mengele to name a few. With the help of computer techniques the buildings of Auschwitz has been rebuild in order to get a view of how the camp looked like with specific attention to the gas-chambers and the barracks were the prisoners lived.So a lot of work has been put into telling the story of one of the darkest chapters in human history. It is truly a depressing tale that leaves you with the big (and unanswered) question: how could this happen? And how can we avoid this happening again? For some reason BBC has chosen not to interview other than eye witnesses and therefore I personally was missing the explanation that a historian, sociologist etc could give to the phenomenon of Holocaust. As a psychologist myself I wondered about this; how can the combination of hatred and discipline be stronger than empathy with the prisoners? Empathy is not something that we choose but something that is always there. So how could those that were involved with the slaughtering of the prisoners not empathize with them? Maybe they did empathize with them after all - but empathy does not always lead to sympathy. It can also lead to sadism I think. Either way, the ability to empathize would dictate that the Germans were not unaffected by their actions which we also are told. Höss never liked the killings and especially in the beginning when it was done by shooting it made him uneasy.One of the more controversial stories that are being told is that the allied forces refused to bomb the railroad-tracks leading to Auschwitz although they knew what was going on and although they were bombing IG Farben only 6 kilometers away. We have an eyewitness from Auschwitz telling us, that she saw the airplanes from the allied forces flying by and from an air photo of the camp we see that it is easy to identify the crematorium. Why didn't the allied forces drop a few bombs? This is really beyond me and makes me wonder if the allied had some sort of hidden agenda.Another more controversial story is the story of the Hungarian Jews. The Germans apparently tried to bargain with their lives and wanted trucks in exchange of Jews. In a document from the allied forces we learn that it was seen as "blackmail" and that the allied forces saw a big problem in getting around 700.000 (I think) Jews to house and to feed. So the consequence was that they went straight to Auschwitz and the gas chambers.Especially one interview with a guard by the name of Oskar Gröning is remembered; he is without remorse but decided to participate when he learned that theHolocaust by some people are being denied. The lack of remorse is interesting. It is tempting to understand the absence of this as a result of defense mechanisms at work. I will not give this top rating as there was too much description and too little explanation. I also think that it was unnecessary to employ actors. A good narrative could have done the work instead. On the other hand you have the invaluable interviews with the eyewitnesses who will be dead and gone in a few years.Regards Simon

This is a superbly produced documentary, based largely on information that has come to light since information from the eastern bloc countries and former Soviet Union became accessible.The documentary comprises mainly of interviews with surviving SS soldiers and surviving prisoners from the Auschwitz and similar camps. It uses CGI special effects, combined with film of the Auschwitz camps to achieve the most realistic reconstruction of how it looked, and how it operated. Dramatisations of various meetings and events have been authentically reconstructed with well cast actors.The stories from the survivors, particular in the episode about children, are the most moving I've ever seen in a documentary. The combination of original photographs, moving music and a first hand account from a survivor make these stories most poignant.It does not demonize the Nazi's, but gives in insight into the mentality that pervaded the regime. It shows them as lacking empathy. We see evidence that not only the Germans, but many French, many Hungarians and many Slovakians were only too willing to help deport their Jews; even the British Police, on the Nazi occupied Channel Islands, were willing to send Jews to the east. Finally, the documentary shows how the surviving Jews, or their return to their homeland, were treated badly by their fellow countrymen. This documentary shows that what happened in the holocaust happened because humans, not just Nazi's, are capable doing terrible things to humanity, given a certain set of circumstances.

2005 was a good year for the BBC. They had Rome, they resurrected the Doctor Who franchise - but before all that, they created Auschwitz - The Nazis and the "Final Solution", which was, without doubt, their best WWII show yet. This harrowing account of what life was like inside the Nazi death camp uses real life footage, powerful and realistic dramatization sequences, and interviews with people who were there to create one of the most powerful mini-series ever broadcast on television. It shows the horrors of Auschwitz and other death camps in Germany and Poland to a generation who have never been forced to endure it, and uses the latest computer trickery to show to you the atrocious conditions in which the Jews lived. This is more than just a mini-series - it is a masterpiece, and lets everybody know that we are not to let things like this ever happen again. From the first to the final episode, I watched it with amazement, learning more and more about what happened in Europe over 60 years ago, and thinking "Why?". It is not the sort of thing you should watch for enjoyment - you watch it to remember those who died at Auschwitz, and think about their struggles and fears, and hope that no race ever treats another people like that ever again.If you can see this show, do see it, as it is a harrowing, powerful, and well-researched tribute to the six million people who died because of the immense cruelty of the Nazis. A must-see. 10/10

The first time, at least, these Camps had been used, by the Spanish, was during the Third Cuban War of Independence, leading to the Spanish - American War (around late 1898). The Americans also used them for the Philippine - American War. It was only the mass scale by the British, in South Africa, that it was thought that they had started them. Ironically set up during the Second Boer War, (October 1899 to May 1902), in South Africa, to house refugees, whose homes and lands had been destroyed by the British. This was done under the name of the "Scorched Earth Policy", done as a military tactic, to destroy anything that might be of use to "the enemy", once rounded up, they would be easier to control, no doubt. It is also rumoured, that the British would shoot prisoners in the kneecap, to prevent any escape. We have to remember that the people in these Camps were mostly civilians, so, they could not be classed as P.O.W.s, (Prisoners of War, i.e., Soldiers). These unfortunate casualties of War were placed in a camp to concentrate their numbers, and as said before, to control. Conditions in these Camps were terrible; disease and hunger were the order of the day. A Concentration Camp is not the same as Extermination Camp, or Death Camp. This was to come later, as Nazi Concentration Camps.Known as Konzentrationslager, or simply KZ, pronounced as Kah-Tzet, this initial, with a number following, tattooed on the forearm of the Prisoners. KZ is the abbreviation of Konzentrationslager. Hence, the prisoner would have tattooed KZ711966, for example, to show they were a prisoner of the Concentration Camp. Their own Identity number. The Nazi Party, also known as NSDAP, or to give it's full title, The National Socialist German Workers' Party, first came into existence on March 7th 1918, by Anton Drexlar. This party, from Munich, was to be called The Free Committee for a German Workers' Peace. The name was changed shortly after to the German Workers' Party, this flourished to what is now known as the NSDAP. The bittersweet irony is that German army intelligence sent in a spy to look into the NSDAP, Adolf Hitler; he was so impressed, that he joined proper. It was to be February 24th, 1920, that the Nazi Party was born, after the name NSDAP was given as its new and proper title.Since 1920 and up to the end of the second World War, Hitler had gained popularity and power, power on the promise of a free Germany, free of Non Nationals, for example, and free of the Jewish wealth and power, which they had used to their (the Jews) own advantage for gaining this wealth. It would seem that the Jews would bare the brunt of the xenophobia, paranoia, jealousy and blame. Blame for a Germany still counting the cost for losing the First World War (1914 - 1918). There is a name for State Sponsored Genocide: Holocaust. The systematic extinction and precaution of one or more Race, such as Jews, Homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Gypsies to name a few, but in greater numbers, a few totalled around six to seven million in just six years or so. Ethnic Cleansing at its most destructive. The most destructive of these Death Camps was a place some 60km Southwest of Krakow, Poland. This was camp number two, Auschwitz. Having three camps here, the number two camp was to be the Camp of mass murder. In the end, around one million Jews were murdered here, along with an estimated 75,000 Poles and 20,000 Roma People. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has done an excellent job of bringing us a truly magnificent portrait of the Pre History and magnitude of Auschwitz. With amazing CGI that allows us to see how Auschwitz looked like, when in complete working order. This Documented History shows the viewer why the camp was needed. We hear from the survivors off this Death Camp, also from the ex Nazis, who, some, still have no qualms of their actions; they say they were only following orders. Yes, this does really bring home the truths of this dreadful atrocity, the suffering of the many and the blind hatred of the evil that was Auschwitz, the Nazis and their Final Solution.This is History Documentation at it's best, to see and finally to get to understand how this evil place came about, and the evil that drove it.