The U.S. and the Holocaust: a new PBS documentary [View all]

[littlemissmartypants]

A very timely documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and company* named The U.S. and the Holocaust is streaming from PBS now.

It's a three part series.

The Golden Door” (Beginnings-1938)
Yearning to Breathe Free (1938 - 1942) and
The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942 - )

Find your local station and follow the links. It's free to stream for a limited time.
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/

The U.S. and the Holocaust

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six hour series that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. Did the nation fail to live up to its ideals? This is a history to be reckoned with.

Premiered September 18, 2022.

Episode Guide:
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/episode-guide/#episode-guide

Watch:
1) https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/episode-1-the-golden-door-beginnings-1938

"The Golden Door” (Beginnings-1938) After decades of maintaining open borders, a xenophobic backlash prompts Congress to pass its first laws restricting immigration. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hitler and the Nazis begin their persecution of Jewish people, causing many to try to flee to neighboring countries or America. Franklin Roosevelt and other world leaders are concerned by the growing refugee crisis but fail to coordinate a response.
Runtime: 128m 43s

2) https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/episode-2-yearning-to-breathe-free-1938-1942

“Yearning to Breathe Free” (1938-1942)
As World War II begins, Americans are united in their disapproval of Nazi brutality but divided on whether to act. Some individuals and organizations work tirelessly to help refugees escape. Meanwhile, Charles Lindbergh and isolationists battle with Roosevelt to try to keep America out of the war. Germany invades the Soviet Union and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.
Runtime: 137m 35s

3) https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/episode-3-the-homeless-tempest-tossed-1942

“The Homeless, Tempest-Tossed” (1942 - )
A group of dedicated government officials fights red tape to finance and support rescue operations. As the Allied soldiers advance, uncovering mass graves and liberating German concentration camps, the public sees for the first time the sheer scale of the Holocaust and begins to reckon with its reverberations.
Runtime: 130m 51s

*Meet the filmakers here:
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/about-the-filmmakers

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