Dear FRONTLINE,
While I was glad to see Frontline airing this important historical film,
I think it would have been appropriate to have framed the film with further
discussion, by current historians, of the film's context and of its limitations as
an historical document (the supplementary material on the Frontline website, for
instance, is the kind of discussion that deserves to be aired with the film
itself).
I would also like to point out two historical errors in the film, both of which have
been discussed at some length by historians: 1) The film portrays the gas chamber
at Dachau as having been fully operational, and suggests that Dachau was an
extermination camp on a par with the Nazis' other killing centers. As I understand
the current literature, there is some debate as to whether the Dachau gas chamber
was used to any great extent. 2) The film's narration states that 4 million people
were killed at Auschwitz, a figure that virtually all historians reject as
inaccurate. The Auschwitz State Museum estimates a death toll at the
Auschwitz-Birkenau complex of somewhere between 1 and 1.5 million; the 4 million
estimate is generally regarded as an inflation by the former communist government
of Poland, aimed at implying that Polish communists, rather than Jews, were the
primary victims at the camp.
I mention these inaccuracies only because confusion on these and similar points have
been seized upon by fringe groups which attempt to deny the historical reality of
the Holocaust. While Holocaust deniers' claims are utterly without merit, it is
important that those of us who seek to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive also
do our best to present its history as accurately as possible.
Once again, I would like to thank Frontline and PBS for their fine programming
during Holocaust Remembrance week.
Marty Kelley
Dear FRONTLINE,
I have known survivors of Auschwitz since childhood. I've heard their stories of
the horrors they endured. Seeing the British and German documentaries gave the
horror a face - a face that cannot be denied.
Noe Dinnerstein
Dear FRONTLINE,
The silence during the film was compelling, haunting. Who were
these people that we see with such horrifying intimacy? Does anyone
know? I'm troubled by the way the film, perhaps purposefully,
leaves this ambiguous, as do your comments on the web site. Has
anyone ever tried to identify the faces? There was no individuality
in the way they died, and none in the way they were buried. Leaving
them nameless and unknowable makes it all seem too far away. The policies
of death are always directed toward groups. Yet death is very personal, very
intimate.
We have this chronicle; I hope someone is trying to know the faces.
Thank you for showing this. It is an important reminder in these times
and it makes me want to learn more about recent thought and scholarship
concerning the Holocaust and Germany during the period.
Steven Trierweiler
Dear FRONTLINE,
I was deeply moved by tonight's program.
The images of the emacited bodies, who were once
living breathing people like you and me, are so very
haunting. It makes one's inner soul sob and
despair over man's cruelty to one another.
I hope this film, and others like it, will continue
to remind us that the world has an obligation not
to forget the Holocaust, in spite of the voices that
declare the whole incident a sham.
Judith Stark
Dear FRONTLINE,
The evil that humans do never fails to impress me. The
sheer magnitude of the slaughter depicted in "Memory of
the Camps" is shocking even now, 51 years later.
A government that invested so heavily in the development and implementation of a entire "system" solely designed to torture and to murder human beings on a grand scale is almost unimaginable.
It was a tragic example of the synergystic power attained
when many evil humans unite and have uncontested power.
Paul S. Novak
fire@ccnet.com
Dear FRONTLINE,
Having seen this film in 1985, I can still remember the
feelings of horror and disgrace that I felt during the
telecast and for some days afterwards. While watching
tonight's broadcast, those same feeling returned. For me,
the Holocaust has not been, or ever will be forgotten.
David Brown
Dear FRONTLINE,
I was totally taken aback by what I have seen. I cannot
believe that such horrible things can humans do to other
human beings! I don't know how to even comment about what I
saw. I only can wish their innocent souls rest in peace.
Why would anyone do this? Why?
Thanks for keeping alive the memories of probably the most
inhuman ways humans did to innocent humans. Hopefully this
will remind us what we, as human are capable of doing. Also,
hopefully it will prevent anything of this nature to happen
in the world anymore.
Thanks again for bringing the unforgettable past. The people
who suffered will be in our memories till our deaths. The
documentary will continue to remind humanity even after.
Hem Ramachandran
Dear FRONTLINE,
Although I am very familair with the subject-matter, Ithought that the documentary
was extremely gripping as well as disturbing. I found the information on your web
page about the making of the film fascinating.
Beverley Corber
bcorber@direct.ca
Dear FRONTLINE,
Unbelievably powerful. The continuous transition between
humanity and inhumanity made the film all too real. My first
emotion, of course, was hate. This quickly turned to shame,
though, not because I had anything to do with the camps but
simply because I shared something in common with the germans-
I'm a human being. They brought shame to all of us by showing
the depths of evil the human race can sink to.
The show made me realize I need to go beyond simply feeling
pain for the victims. I need to speak out more against
violations of human rights, at all levels. I must DO more.
Phil Clark
Dear FRONTLINE,
I have seen documentaries on this subject before, but never like this. One wonders
how man could do that to another. It touched my soul watching it.
Skip Simpson
valin1@usa.pipeline.com
Dear FRONTLINE,
Thank you for showing Memory of the Camps.
While extremely disturbing, what is even more disturbing to me
however is a growing assertion among some in our society that these events did not
occur, or equally alarming,
a simple lack of historical knowledge by others. We must to continue to be reminded
through graphical presentations such as yours in order to inform the uninformed and
to rebuff
those who would spread ignorance and deny these events.
Thank You
Rob Long
rlong@golder.com
Dear FRONTLINE,
I saw your program last nigth with my 12 year old daughter. Having discussed the
death camps with her before, this program put into perspective what "Man can do to
man." Although this happened prior to World War II and after in other countries,
it really helped us discuss how we should relate to other people with differing
attitudes, customs and looks. Thank you for an excellent program.
Cary Zigman
Dear FRONTLINE,
I can't say that I enjoyed this particular episode of Frontline, but I can say that
I was moved beyond words; almost to tears. Being a history major in college, I had
studied the camps in some depth, but always in the sanitary environment of a
textbook and with the "safe" feeling that the passage of time brings. But,
watching this episode brought it all home to me: What if it had been my country?
My family? What if my two small children had been taken from me and murdered? The
very thoughts of this are frightening, and I think it admirable of the filmmakers
to remind us that history can and does repeat itself. I also express my unending
admiration for the survivors of these camps--how anyone was able to pick up and go
on after the loss of family, friends, and world is a mystery to me. God bless them
Mary Huddleston
hudd@hiwaay.net
Dear FRONTLINE,
My father was a German Jew who left with his father right before Hitler came to
power. They left to make a place for the rest of the family to go. Unfortunately,
the rest of the family did not get to leave. This program was one of the few of
the Holocaust that I had not previously watched. I found it intensely emotional
and profound in its' content. I watched it with tears streaming down my face. I
wondered if any of those faces were faces of my family that I would never know.
Thank you so much for bringing this program into my home. God bless you all.
P.K.
Dear FRONTLINE,
I've seen, for the first time in my life, a documentary that
so tugs at the heart and soul, that it still cries for
justice, even after all these years!
I am retired military, and have spent many years in Germany,
during the '70s and '80s. I was younger at the time, but
still aware of being around some of those locations. Even
then, when ever I got close to one of them, it seemed like I
could still feel the pain and suffering, heavy in the
surrounding area. And it made me not want to approach any
closer! I could never understand exactly how an atrocity
such as this, could have been bestowed "unknowningly" upon
the general populace, by someone not even from the country.
Hopefully this documentary will serve, purely as a reminder
to future generations that, apathy toward God and country,
allowed to imbed itself so deeply in the human soul will always
yeild the exact same results.
I often wonder, of the killed innocents, how many would have
gone on to become peaceful, productive and positive......??
The possibilities stagger my imagination.
H.G.Williams
hgwill@i-link.net