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dissolve the family group. It takes a while for the impact
to be felt.
6. Be alert for signs that your children may be troubled
during the weeks which follow the program. Encourage them
to talk about their reactions, thoughts, feelings, fears—even
well after the program is over.
Discussing “Holocaust”
Although the impact of the program should be discussed
with children, it should also be discussed between parents
Parents must be encouraged to react as "themselves"
—thinking, responsible adults—not merely in relation
to or through their children. Parents should discuss
“Holocaust” with each other and with friends, and with Jews
and non-Jews alike We all have a stake in the outcome of
such discussions Equally important, parents ought to exert
every effort to learn the facts of the Holocaust. Discussion
ought, in so far as possible, to be informed discussion
Whether the discussion takes place immediately after
each segment, before viewing the next segment, or weeks
later, it is important that it take place and that at some time it
engage the entire family Everyone in the family has
something to contribute Even those who have not watched
all the segments—or any of them—may be helped to better
understand the Holocaust
In addition to formal family discussion time, random
questions or references may come from your child for
several weeks or months following the program. Encourage
these exchanges and respond to them patiently and
honestly Communication is vitally important, particularly to
help allay any fears your child may have about these events
* recurring in his lifetime
Finding Answers
Don't be afraid to say ”1 don't know" No one knows all the
answers to some of the vexing and puzzling questions of the
Holocaust "Although there were other victims, why the
Jews?" "How could human beings so degrade other human
beings, and in such a methodical and deliberate fashion?"
"Why did the world remain silent?" “Why did the Gerrrf&ns
close their eyes?” "Where was God?"
These are difficult questions and yet it is possible to try to
understand The Jews were chosen, at least partly, as a
resdlt of the long Christian tradition of anti-Semitism that was
reflected in the repugnant image ol the Jew that had become
an integral part of German life Many otherwise decent
people "closed their eyes" for fear of reprisals and although
some will inevitably ask "where was God 9 " it might also be
appropriate to ask “where was man during the Holocaust?"
We must, as parents if not as human beings, think, leam.
and talk about these issues, to each other and to our
children, if we are to retain our humanity
What Can We Tell Our Children to do?
The question which remains is "What can we do to see that
such a thing never happens again 9
Pat answers are obviously impossible Nevertheless, if the
Holocaust teaches us anything, it can help to teach us how
to live with others, truly understanding the implications ot the
Jewish concept that all peole have been created "betzelem
elohim," in the image of God It can also help us to learn how.
as committed Jews, we can translate the meaning ol
righteous living into ordinary, every day actions Finally it can
encourage us to strengthen our involvement in Jewish life, to
assure creative Jewish survival, so as to heed Emil
Fackenheim's “Eleventh Commandment"—“You shall not
give Hitler a Posthumous victory" The rest is
commentary —go and study 11 ^
Plot Summary
by Alan D Bennett
The general story-line of "'Holocaust'" is true; only some
names have been changed Three Berlin families are the
pivot-points of the action: The Jewish Weiss family is joined
to the Christian Helms family through the marriage of Karl
Weiss to Inga Helms as Hitler is consolidating his grip on
every aspect of German life The Christian Dorf family is
involved through Erik Dorf's participation in the Nazi
machine. Figures peripheral to the three families weave in
and out of the unfolding drama, each is carefully drawn so as
to exemplify one or another aspect of the psyche and
behavior of persecutor and persecuted. Architects of the
Nazi plan, for whom Green uses actual names, appear in
their appropriate places, working inexorably towards the
“Final Solution" of the Jewish "question " One by one, the
members of the three families and those around them come
to their ends, some in the abyss of despair, some webbed in
their own rationalizations, and many in nameless and
unknown graves and ash heaps Between appearing and
ending, they love and play, murder, justify and explain their
actions to themselves and to one another They demonstrate
cowardice and nobility. They try to retain sanity and a
semblance of normality in an insane world
Cast of Characters
1 The Weiss Family.
Berta - proud and aristocratic, old-family Berliner; a cultured
and thoroughgoing German whose Jewishness is far
behind her
Josef-Berta's Polish-born husband; an M D. who moves in
the high levels of German society; he, too, is proud of
being a “true German"; Jewishness is not a matter of
awareness for him and plays no part in his daily pursuits
Karl - their sensitive, artistic son, somewhat passive; his
marriage to a Christian is quite logical to him and to his
parents
Rudi - their extroverted, athletic, somewhat aggressive son
Anna - their daughter; she would like to be the proud lady
her mother is, but sparks of rebelliousness emulate what
she sees in Rudi
Moses - Josef's brother who remained in Poland; they meet
again in the Warsaw Ghetto
Helena - Jewish-Czech Partisan who saves Rudi's life and
teaches him about Zionism and the Jewish People; they
are married shortly before she is killed
Frau and Herr Palitz - Berta's parents; they discover that
neither their “true" Germanness nor Herr Palitz"
outstanding World War I record with the German Army will
save them from the Holocaust
2. The Helms Family
Frau and Herr Helms - Berlin burghers; these plain folk,
"good Germans," are eager to accept Nazi teachings
about the Jews; their contact with the Weiss family is an
embarrassment and, later, a threat
Inga - their daughter, married to Karl Weiss; rebellious and
proud, she will pay the ultimate price out of love for Karl
Hans - their son; he is quick to don the Nazi uniform
Muller - not a family member, but a close friend; cruel and
arrogant, he is a complete opportunist, unprincipled, a
"typical"' Nazi ,
3 The Dorf Family.
Erik - an unemployed attorney who delivered pastries to the
Weiss household in'his youth; goaded by an ambitious
wife, he joins the Nazis, rises quickly, and does his work
with a single-minded determination
Marta - his wife; scheming, opportunistic, power-intoxicated,
she drives Erik even to his own ruin; in the earlier days, she
had been a patient of Josef Weiss
Peter and Laura - their children
Kurt - Erik's uncle; a construction engineer, he builds roads
for the Nazis; a man of conscience, he rebukes Erik, uses
his position to try to save a few Jews
4 Resistance Fighters - Various members of the Jewish
underground, Partisans, Ghetto Fighters
5 Nazis - various members of the Nazi hierarchy, officials,
camp commanders, etc
6 Miscellaneous - residents of the ghetto and
concentration camps, including the artists ot Terezin;
various Nazis and German civilians: Father Lichtenberg, a
small voice of protest within the church
First Night: The Family Weiss.
The action opens on the wedding celebration of Karl and
Inga The Nazis are now consolidating their hold on
Germany, there is much discussion about the Jews, and we
are given a hint of what wilt happen when the Nazis control
every aspect of German life We begin to'confront the Weiss
dilemma They are sure they are Germans (or are they 9 ) but
they begin to suspect that that will not help them Their
agonizing question Should they leave Germany or wait it
out" in the hope that either things will get better or they will
be spared 9
We meet Erik and Marta in Weiss clinic There is a good
patient-doctor relationship between Marta and Josef, and
clear evidence of trust between the families Erik and Marta
later worry about how they will be able to pay Josef s bill—
they do not want to take advantage of such a good man and
fine doctor Marta pushes Erik to join the Nazi party and
apply for a legal position in Headquarters Erik reluctantly
agrees and visits Heydrich s office The Gestapo head finds
Erik eager to please, ready to adopt Nazi philosophy, ready
to play ball and then some for the promise of a good career
There is discussion on the menace of “the Jewish world
conspiracy" and how to stop it Erik is accepted, subject
to a security check for “racial purity Marta is proud of Erik
and his uniform, and we see that she has grandiose plans for
him
Lieutenant Erik Dorf brings advice to Dr Josef Weiss Stop
treating Aryans; better still, leave Germany while it s still \
possible Nothing personal, just leave Dorf is torn between
old friendships and new loyalties, as we are introduced to
the growing catalogue of discrimination against Jews Berta
and Josef realize that they are prisoners in “their" Berlin We
perceive why they do not leave—the illusion that things will
be better for, after all. Germany is a country of high culture
In the meantime, Rudi encounters anti-Semitism on his
beloved soccer field, is crudely jolted to reality With the
announcement that a Polish Jew has assassinated vom
Rath, mass anti-Semitism erupts Dorf proposes in Gestapo
Headquarters that they stage a "civilian" uprising against the
Jews Kristallnacht explodes as Herr Palitz and other Jews
merry way as the destruction of Polish Jewry begins The
Warsaw Ghetto tries to maintain a semblance of normal life
through organization and self-governance Josef, Moses
and other members of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) discuss
the meaning of "work details’" and "daily quotas "" In the
celebration Dorf demonstrates his penchant for turning a
phrase in the service of his masters when he asserts that
there's "moral precedent” for punishing Jews He assures
the gathered celebrants that there will be no international
reaction because no one will stick his neck out for Jews This
is a theme that appears in several places It is a source of
comfort to the Nazis and of consternation to the Jews In the
meantime, Karl is arrested and Inga is rebuffed by her family
when she asks them to intervene op behalf of her husband;
her marriage to the Jew has brought trouble enough already,
and they're glad to be done with it Dorf has moved up the
ranks rapidly, and Weiss begs him to help Karl Erik turns him
down and reminds him of the earlier advice and warning
Leave now
Events quicken. Karl is seen entering Buchenwald, where
it becomes evidept that dehumanization will be just the first
of the atrocities The Palitzes commit suicide Josef is
deported to Poland while his clinic and home are taken over
by a Christian doctor Weiss with his friend Lowy, the printer,
and Lowy’s wife reach the Warsaw Ghetto where they are
met by Moses Weiss While Erik and Eichmann enjoy an
outing in the park and exchange ideas on how to survive by
obeying orders, Berta, Rudi, and Anna move into a room in
the Helms’ apartment at Inga's insistence Muller's presence
frightens the Helms' —will he inform on them? Inga confronts
her family and Muller in defense of Karl and vows that she II
get to Buchenwald to be with him. Rudi leaves determined to
control his own fate
German social life for Party members continues on its
merry way as the destruction of Polish Jewry begins The
Warsaw Ghetto tries to maintain a semblance of normal life
through organization and self-governance Josef, Moses
and other members of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) discuss
the meaning of "work details" and "daily quotas " In the
meantime, Muller senses that he might be able to persuade
Inga to sell herself to him for the chance to be in contact with
Karl Anna, trying to follow Rudi to freedom, is raped in an
alley by German soldiers Psychotic as a consequence of
her ordeal, she is committed to what purports to be a mental
institution We discover later that this is an extermination
center for "defectives," a trial run for extermination
techniques
In a vignette, we meet Father Lichtenberg whom Erik
warns to cease his "subversive defense of the Jews
Lichtenberg refuses and it is clear that his days are
numbered
Rudi reaches Prague, is rescued from the police by
Helena This is his first knowledge that there are others who
resist Helena tells him about Zionism and they determine to
make it together to Palestine
Second Night; The Gathering Darkness
Berta is deported and reaches the Warsaw Ghetto where she
is reunited with Josef Inga gives herself to Muller as the
price for delivering her letters to Karl in Buchenwald We
meet the camp guards, the bestialities of camp life, and the
Kapos In the Warsaw Ghetto, the dawning realization
that all will eventually die prompts the first glimmerings
of resistance Arrests and executions increase as the
underground newspaper and organized resistance become
more evident
Our attention shifts to the Eastern Front, where the Kiev
massacres prompt the Nazi leaders to steel themselves to
the atrocities in which they are now engaged Hans,
wounded in the Russian resistance in Kiev, is helped by Rudi
and Helena who have worked their way east with Russian
refugees. From Hans, Rudi learns what has become of his
parents, of Karl, of Anna. Despite pretenses at friendship
and gratitude. Hans betrays Rudi and Helena to German
soldiers As Rudi and Helena are being led away, a bomb
blast kills Hans and the other soldiers They escape and
from their new hiding place, they watch with unconcealed
horror the massacre at Babi Yar The Ukrainians are satisfied
to inherit the clothes of murdered Jews ,
Erik, who had earlier been goaded by his comrades into
shooting Jews in cold blood, is confronted by his uncle, Kurt
Having already convinced himself that all he is doing is
justified because the Jews are inferior and the world really
wants them eliminated, Erik tries in vain to convince Kurt
We watch a happy Christmas celebration in the Dorf
home The gaiety is interrupted by the discovery of photos of
the Weiss' inside the piano—the same piano on which the
cultured Berta had played her concert pieces Kurt stands
apart from the celebration; we begin to see his active
repugnance for Erik and what he represents
As the program ends Rudi and Helena meet Sasha s band
of Jewish partisans
Third Night: The Final Solution
Theresienstadt—the showplace camp—is now Karl s home
He and other artists draw Hitler's propaganda posters They
also draw, clandestinely, the protest paintings of the
Holocaust Their secret chronicle of the truth is discovered,
and Karl and other artists are tortured in an effort to get
them to tell of other paintings and other protest artists In
the meantime, Inga has persuaded Muller to have her
sentenced to Theresienstadt to be with Karl There she
helps to bury the remaining drawings
As news of the massacres in Russia reaches the Warsaw
Ghetto, the will of the Jews to physically resist stiffens— but
they have no guns, no ammunition The Ghetto fighters
acquire their first gun, their only gun, and begin to tram
themselves in its use. At last they will fight 1
Heydrich, Erik, and others speculate on how Hitler 's
newest order will be executed Physical extermination of all
Jews They conclude again that there will be no world
reaction, that no one will care and that the world will, in fact,
be grateful Himmler and others inspect the extermination
trenches, determine that they will have to find more efficient
ways to kill Jews faster and dispose of the bodies Nazi
plans to expand Auschwitz are interrupted by the
assassination of Heydrich With his benefactor dead, Erik
begins to fear for himself He has risen rapidly, and made
many enemies They are starting to unite against him We
learn of the plans for the use of Zyklon-B gas, and of the
complicity of German industrialists
Rudi and Helena are married by a rabbi in Sasha's band
They are ecstatic to learn that Jews have guns and fight their
enemies, but it is another thing to have to kill. Rudi discovers
that truth in a raid against the Ukrainian militia
The full truth dawns in the Ghetto—the transports are
taking Jews to death camps: the myth of "resettlement' is
exploded There will be no survivors News smuggled in ^
from the outside makes no mention of the liquidation of the
Jews Despair descends, but struggle continues Josef and
Berta open an unauthorized "clinic" near the train depot to
try to save a few Jews Josef and Berta are transported to
Auschwitz
Fourth Night: The Saving Remnant
The grand lady to the end, Berta tells her pupils to continue
their studies as she is led away. With Mrs Lowy, she perishes
in the gas chamber at Auschwitz. In the Ghetto itself the
uprising erupts, persists, and ends. Moses Weiss,
Anielewicz—all the resisters perish before the truck-
mounted machine guns, the "Shema" on their lips. Karl, his
hands crippled, half dead, is transported with the other
artists from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz Inga and the others
remain behind \
In the meantime Rudi and Helena continue their raids
against the Germans in the Ukraine Sasha's Partisans fail in
their raid on a German train. Helena is killed, Rudi captured
With Russian prisoners, he escapes from the prison camp
Sensing the beginning of the end, Erik is sustained now
only by Marta's strength and iron will He discovers that Kurt
has been using Jewish prisoners on his labor gangs—Weiss
and Lowy are among them—and confronts his uncle Kurt
orders Erik away but, in the end, Erik prevails and the Jews
are sent to the gas chambers With the end near. Eichmann
demands priority to transport Jews. Himmler and Erik debate
whether it would be best to cover their tracks or to leave the
evidence as testimony that they were only doing what the
world wanted—getting rid of Jews Erik starts to crack,
reverses his earlier stand, and begins to destroy the records
At U S Army Headquarters in Germany, each of the Nazi
leaders offers his personal justification for what he did No
remorse, no guilt Erik commits suicide lest he confess and
• thereby betray his loyalty to his cause Marta refuses to *
believe Kurt's report of Erik's death. Kurt vows to atone for
what he has done, to refrain from being silent
Rudi s wanderings bring him to Theresienstadt, where he
meets Inga She shows him Karl s drawings, including the
one he did with smashed and crippled hands Rudi accepts
an invitation from a Jewish Agency representative to escort
Greek orphans to Palestine
Issues for Discussion with Children
By Bea Stadtler
Before the series begins, you will want to spend some time
with your children to alert them to issues they might want to
watch for in the series. Accordingly, we have separated
these guidelines into “before" and “after" programmatic
suggestions for each night
Keep in mind that Children will not always respond as you
do to the issues raised Try to separate out those issues
which reflect a simple difference of opinion from those which
reflect the lack of a full and mature understanding of the
situation. It is not necessary to convince the children that you
are right. It is necessary to convince them that it is possible
for there to be two equally legitimate diametrically opposed
positions on an issue.
Issues for Discussion with Children Before Part I
To Be Telecast April 16,1978
1. Many of the German Jews that appear on the TV program
do not feel very Jewish When the Nazi actions began to
affect German Jews many continued to maintain that a
cultured society could not allow such things to happen
2. Try to imagine what it would feel like to be excluded from
something because you are Jewish How would it feel for you
to be thrown off a baseball, soccer, football, or tennis team,
or excluded from Girl or Boy Scouts, dance class, or
debating society because you are a Jew?
3 Rights and civil liberties were taken away from the
German Jews What are civil liberties? A new set of laws,
called the Nuremberg Laws were institued by the Nazis
Note how the law was twisted and how the Jews were
deprived of their rights
4 Words can become so very important In Nazi terms,
"resettlement" and "relocation” took on new meanings Jews
were thrown out of the country and their belongings and
valuables were confiscated "De-population of large areas
now occupied by Slavs, and elimination of Jewish influence,”
only meant death for Jews and the enslavement of Slavs If
the Nazis had said what they really intended to dp
everybody would have been horrified In short, innocent
words were used to deceive and confuse everybody
5 Most German civilians knew and yet did nothing.
6 German propaganda misled much of the world and even
many Jews This was one reason there was so little
resistance at the beginning; everyone believed the
Germans Some German Jews did leave for the United
States and other countries, but many were too poor, too old,
too ill or simply couldn't find countries willing to accept them
Consider how you would cope with a situation where you
had no place to go, no one to take you in and no money
1 Now that you have seen the film you can understand that
Dr and Mrs Weiss and their family were assimilated Jews
"absorbed" in, and part of the general German population A
good indication of this assimilation lies in the fact that Karl
married a German non-Jew and this did not bother his
parents at aft What can we learn from the TV program about
those who wanted to forget or who hid the fact that they were
Jews?
2 When issues arise which affect Jews or other minorities in
a negative way should they be fought, or should we take an
“it will pass' attitude? What did they do in Germany?
3 Have you e'. jr heard of Mem Kampt (My Struggle) 9 Mem
Kampf is the book Hitler wrote when he was in prison It later
became the guidebook for Nazi actions When it was written
almost everyone laughed al it and said it was the work ol a
madman or crackpot Later however it became a kind of
Bible for the German nation (It would be excellent to read
a few pertinent passages to children)
4 The Nuremberg Laws were instituted September 15
. 1935 Among other things, they took away German
citizenship from German Jews forbade marriage between
Jews and Aryans': forbade Jews from hiring non-Jewish
servants under 35 years of age excluded Jews from public
office, civil service, journalism, radio farming, and theater
Later the Jews were thrown out of the stock exchange and
were not permitted to practice law or medicine or engage in
business and Jewish documents were stamped with a "J'
Later Jews had to wear special yellow stars and this was
only the beginning, after the "legal terror came the physical
terror
5 Kristallnacht. ' The Night of (Broken) Glass, was
supposed to have been a “spontaneous" reaction to the
death of vom Rath In actuality, it was a well planned, well
carried out, "riot" in which Jewish businesses, institutions
and synagogues were smashed by German mobs Indeed,
the plans for "Kristallnacht" were made months before After
Kristallnacht many Jews did leave Germany But in spite of
the Nazi claim that all Jews were rich, there were many poor
Jews who could not afford to leave Germany There were
others who could afford to go but who had no place to run.
Can you put yourself in the place of these Jews, whose
non-Jewish neighbors turned on them, who had no place to
turn to, no friends inthe world, whose stores and places of
business were looted and then burned, who had no way to
make a living, whose bank accounts were closed and whose
few assets were stolen from them Where to go, where to run,
who would help?
6 During this past year a neo-Nazi group applied for
permission to march through a Jewish section of a city near
Chicago where many Holocaust survivors live Many
residents of the city protested against the issuance of a
parade permit to this group Many issues were raised on
both sides: the constitutional right of (aeople to congregate in
this country, the fact that the Nazi party in Germany gathered
support through street demonstrations, the fact that the Nazi
group chose this suburb specifically with the aim of inciting
the residents What do you think about this?
7 German lies; The whole government and policy was built
on lies They lied to other governments: they lied to
the people of other countries; they lied to their own people;
they lied to the Jews; they lied to the Red Cross When
government policy is based on lies, who should challenge
the government 9 What happened to those who tried to
challenge the government 9 Clergy—press—students 9
8 Germans standing by and watching—not interfering
in the beating, murder and pillage Jews surrounded by
those who were vicious and brutal and by those who did not
care How does one respond to this 9 No weapons and no
knowledge of how to use them if you did have them What
you always considered right is wrong and what you always
thought was wrong is right Justice is no longer How coufd
you function if this happened to you 9
Issues for Discussion with Children Before Pari II
To Be Telecast April 17,1978
1 What would it feel like if ghetto walls were erected around
a small portion of your neighborhood and you had to live
within those walls 9
2 Notice the different kinds of people in the ghetto, the
leaders, the common people and the fighters.
3 Decioe as you watch the film who is a hero Think about
the different ways a person can resist the course of events in
such a terrible situation
Issues for Discussion with Children After Part II
To Be Telecast April 17,1978
1. Remember Heydrich saying that Christian anti-Semitism
had for centuries laid the groundwork for Nazi acts What did
he mean 9
2 There were a few good churchmen like Father
Lichtenberg who tried to speak out Generally, though,
church officials went along * ih Nazi policies or tried to keep
out of politics altogether To what extent do religious leaders
have a responsibility to speak out 9
3 Nazis keep using terms like “spies and criminals .' Their
list of opponents include "criminal elements, gypsies, soviet
officials, communists and all Jews ' A'rather strange list.
Why were all these different groups lumped together with
the Jews 9
KEEP THIS VIEWING GUIDE FOR REFERENCE ON
APRIL 16,17,18119
Issues for Discussion With Children After Psrt I
To Be Telecsst April 16.1978