Shoah, a 1985 documentary film by French writer and director Claude Lanzmann (November 27, 1925 in Paris, France) about one of the worst crimes against humanity ever; the holocaust. This documentary unlike many others about this subject does not rely on a single piece of archive footage, only interviews with the people who were actually there. Over the course of an extensive 9 and a half’s worth of interviews Claude speaks with witnesses, survivors of the death camps and ex-NAZI’s.
As we watch Shoah online we build a genuine picture of what really happened during this dark period in time. As a result some of the people providing information purposefully have their identity withdrawn, for example all of the former NAZI’s in the film agreed to only be recorded in audio. The information gathered in this film is like no other thanks to Claude’s meticulous style of interviewing which reveals intimate details about the genocide that the general public had never heard about before the release of Shoah.
6 million Jews and “undesirables” died in the holocaust and Shoah provides a horrifying account of this only from the mouths of people who were there. While the documentary provides a wealth of information it was not commercially successful having grossed only $15,642 since its release in 1985 however it remains a highly sought after documentary for its unique factual Merritt.