The problem with most Holocaust films is that they portray the story as a one time only event. They make it so overly sentimental that the viewer is able to distance himself of what he's seeing and takes comfort on the idea that something like that will never happen again.But not Night and Fog.Alain Resnais presents the line between past and present as it really is: thinner than we think. To do that, it relies only on real footage of the concentration camps during the Holocaust and of the same concentration camps 10 years after the end of the WW II. The voice over tells us what we are seeing, making us look at all the details, never letting us off the hook. We're not supposed to feel comfortable, not even by looking at abandoned concentration camps. The fingernail scratches on the walls of the gas chambers are there. It happened and we better remember it! The fact that it has only 30 minutes doesn't make it less powerful. On the contrary, it condenses its message into an overwhelming half an hour.My only complain is for the soundtrack. Its complexity may get a bit distracting and almost inappropriate. Maybe some absolute silence moments could help make the message even stronger, if that's even possible.Overall, Night and Fog is a masterpiece. The fact that my mind and my body can't disconnect of what I just seen is the first sign I just witnessed something extraordinary.

I found it such a masterpiece that I took the chance to write my first review. The most accurate and vivid image of Holocaust. If you want to know about Holocaust, just watch this documentary. I am usually not affected by any form of violence/gore or intense scene. But this film!! One cannot watch it in single run. And at the end, I sat unmoving, silent for hours. The last line generalized the concentration camp to inhumanity of man towards man and the past to present. ""We pretend it all happened only once. at a given time and place. We turn a blind eye to what surrounds us. and a deaf ear to humanity's never-ending cry.""

The documentary seeks to capture the viewer's attention by displaying that glimpse of what went in German concentration camps. This historical footage used in this film made available due to the German's documentation of their key activities. The Germans were very detailed and methodical in their management of the concentration camps.The documentary mentions that the concentration camps seemed like another world. The film started out with beautiful scenery. Beautiful scenery like farm lands, meadows, roads, resort towns, and areas of harvest. These areas were mentioned in a positive manner and were in close proximity to the contrasting concentration camps.The concentration camps testified to Germany's compressed industrial history. The film mentions that Germany itself was like an industrial machine, an industrial machine that was high in production and in working order because of its government. The Germans running the concentration camps believed they were being modern, scientific, or even groundbreaking. The concentration camps were built in tune with the modern times. There were contractors assigned to build them to a certain specification or style. The buildings even had bids on them to be built. The camps were build ahead of time before the prisoners arrived. When it came time fore the prisoners to arrive they were transported in modern age trains and vehicles. The Germans pushed the limit with their science. They experimented with the Jewish prisoners by use of inhumane methods and treatments. Their justification for the experiments was purely for scientific discovery. However, in legitimate science, scientist would not try to back up their views based on a racial bias. This operation was purely self-financed by the German Nazis so any conduct was accepted. Work ethic is heavily implemented in the lives of the Jewish prisoners. The SS stressed to the prisoners that "work is the only means of freedom". However, freedom wasn't possible for the prisoners in reality. Violence was a corrective action used by the SS. In the film it was by the implementation of heavy order. There was uninterrupted fear among the prisoners because at any time they could have a spot check, punishment, or a trip of no return. The killing or punishment by hand was present in the camps, but was not efficient. The Germans implemented mass killing in which they used the crematorium or the gas chamber. The film Night and Fog depicts the mass killings as a seamless process. It was almost like it was nothing to the Nazi German soldiers.At the concentration camps there were no individuals. The camps were only about the collective and smaller groupings of that collective. There were groupings such as woman, children, criminals, the elderly, disabled, and other groups. Certain measures were even made to destroy and individualism that survived with the prisoners. Each prisoner had to wear a symbol to signify that they were a Jewish prisoner. This symbol classified the Jews as a collective in the camps. The prisoners were stripped of all their individual clothes. This was not only humiliating but it reduced the prisoners to objects of flesh and bone. The prisoners started to look alike and have a indeterminable age because they were mostly naked, skinny, and tired. The Germans for the most part destroyed the Jewish prisoner's individuality and culture. However, the Jewish prisoners did keep their faith and found ways to mentally escape their hardship. They wrote letters, created sculptures, or even reflected on scriptures. (There may be some spelling mistakes but I think I got my idea across)

I saw "Night and Fog" in film class as a teenager over 40 years ago. I have never forgotten it, nor will ever as long as I live.Anyone who sees this film will understand what will happen when one group of human beings cedes absolute dominance over themselves to another group. Notice my use of the word "will". Some may not ADMIT they understand (eg., the holocaust deniers), but they WILL understand.One point seven million Cambodians, one million Armenians, four hundred thousand Cossacks, three million Ukrainians, six million Jews as well as a like number from other "undesirable" categories. On and on...And yes, the Holocaust DID happen.One half hour you will never, ever forget. Absolutely shattering.