Synopsis
Shoah is a documentary film, concerned mainly with four topics: Chelmno, where gas vans were first used to exterminate Jews; the death camps of Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau; and the Warsaw Ghetto, with testimonies from survivors, witnesses, and perpetrators. The sections on Treblinka include testimony from Abraham Bomba, who survived as a barber, Richard Glazar, an inmate, and a rare interview with Franz Suchomel, an SS officer who worked at the camp who reveals intricate details of the camp's gas chamber. Suchomel apparently agreed to provide Lanzmann with some anonymous background details; Lanzmann instead secretly filmed his interview, with the help of assistants and a hidden camera. There is also an account from Henrik Gawkowsky, who drove one of the trains while intoxicated with vodka. Testimonies on Auschwitz are provided by Rudolf Vrba, who escaped from the camp before the end of the war and Filip Müller, who worked in an incinerator burning the bodies from the gassings. There are also accounts from various local villagers, who saw the trains heading daily to the camp and leaving empty; they quickly guessed the fate of those on board. The only two Jews to survive Chelmno are interviewed: Simon Srebnik, who was forced to sing military songs to amuse the Nazis and Mordechaï Podchlebnik. There is also a secretly-filmed interview with Franz Schalling, who was a guard. The Warsaw ghetto is discussed toward the end of the film, and the conditions there are described by Jan Karski, who worked for the Polish government-in-exile and Franz Grassler, a Nazi administrator who liaised with Jewish leaders. Memories from Jewish participants in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising conclude the documentary. Lanzmann also interviews Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg, who discusses the historical significance of Nazi propaganda against the European Jews and the Nazi invention of the Final Solution.
Metrics
| Legs: | 7.02 (domestic box office/biggest weekend) |
| Domestic Share: | 100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide) |
| Infl. Adj. Dom. BO | $35,121 |
Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists
| Record | Rank | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 15,701-15,800) | 15,738 | $20,175 |
| All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 31,401-31,500) | 31,442 | $20,175 |
See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.
Watch Now On
| Amazon VOD: | Amazon |
Movie Details
| Domestic Releases: | November, 1985 (Limited) by IFC Films December 10th, 2010 (Limited) by IFC Films |
| Video Release: | June 25th, 2013 by Criterion |
| MPAA Rating: | Not Rated |
| Running Time: | 280 minutes |
| Comparisons: | vs. Pet Sematary Create your own comparison chart… |
| Keywords: | World War II, War Crimes, Bigotry |
| Source: | Based on Real Life Events |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Production Method: | Live Action |
| Creative Type: | Factual |
| Production/Financing Companies: | Historia, Les Films Aleph, Ministere de la Culture de la Republique Francaise |
| Production Countries: | France |
| Languages: | English, French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Yiddish |