Some of the best Holocaust movies are both informative and inspiring, but many are meant to recount the tragedies of 1933. You may find some that are pure fiction (not listed below), while others are based on the true story of those who survived the horrors that are concentration camps, family losses, and freedoms stripped from their lives in the blink of an eye. When it comes to researching for a history or literature assignment at school, you need every source of information available to scour ideas, viewpoints, and details. That’s where this Holocaust movies list comes into play. There are various viewpoints to watch and details to uncover that you may not catch while reading a book. When you watch a movie, you can see the feelings and get a real sense of fear, love, loss, and hope. Watching any of these films is a great way to prepare yourself for debate. Simply sit back with a pen and pad, push play, and watch the retelling of a great tragedy. That way, when you ace your assignment and all your friends start asking you to “do my history homework too,” you can simply refer them to this list and let them do their own research. Tell them how easy it is to watch history unfold and align with whichever viewpoint they most resonate with. Then, they, too, will be a pro at debating their take on such historic events. Until then, check out the list below and decide which viewpoint is your favorite.
Get the 411 on the 1933 Powerplay of Historic Proportions
The following list of movies about the Holocaust is a great place to start your research. You’ll be fully prepared to debate whichever viewpoint you choose regarding the events that happened so many years ago. Most of these movies have a book companion you can read, but if you are short on time and need historical accuracy, what better way to write down details and help organize your thoughts than by listening to the stories unfold from the perspective of those who survived it themselves? Plus, some of these movies come with additional commentary and personal experience notes from real survivors.
1. The Pianist
If you are looking for a different perspective on the horrors that depict all the hardships and wars of the Holocaust, ‘The Pianist’ directed by Roman Polanski, is the film for you. It is written from the eyes of a survivor named Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jew who fought the worst parts of his life to survive what 99.8% of others didn’t. The movie conveys a Jewish pianist who has to make the hardest decision in his life and finds solace in the ivy keys of a piano. Knowing how to play Chopin and being well-known for his talent might just be his saving grace after all. Instead of focusing on the battles, your research assignment can portray the hope something like a piano and a keen ear can give someone in a desperate situation and that you just might find an ally in the most unconventional methods.
2. Sarah’s Key
When using Holocaust movies as a reference for a history assignment, be sure to research if they are fiction or nonfiction. Here we have a fictional depiction of a situation that could have really happened back in 1942. You could ask yourself, “What would I do to survive or save my sibling if this were happening to my family?” Would you stick together or lock your little brother in a secret room to try and save him? That is exactly the choice Sarah has to make during the deportation stage of the French Jews. To make the situation even more interesting, this is written from the perspective of a journalist who finds out the story and learns what 10-year-old Sarah did and why she carried that key. What a great way to present the “what if” scenario to your class.
3. The Pawnbroker
From concentration camp survivor to pawn shop owner, Sol Nazerman has to endure the pain that comes with surviving such hardships and torture. The number of survivors overall is very low, and this film is one of even fewer that recounts the Holocaust from a survivor’s point of view. Previously a professor before a prisoner, Sol turns to hatred and solitude after being a free man again. He refuses to let another person into his private life and stays quiet and hard on anyone who tries. This perspective makes the viewers think about how emotional surviving something like this is and how someone can truly “live” after watching his family die in the camps while he managed to survive. A certain detachment to society is sure to evolve, but can Sol manage to let anyone in at all, even his pawnshop employee, Jesus?
4. The Book Thief
Like every good movie, this one mixes real-life situations with a bit of fancy and name changes. The main characters aren’t real, but what Liesel’s family does really happened, and what Liesel did as a result of that action is true and very dangerous. She puts not only her foster family in danger but their harbored fugitive as well. When you consider all the films about the Holocaust, this one takes sort of a bittersweet sad/happy mixture with you in the end. With a kind gesture in mind, a sweet old housepainter named Hans discovers that Liesel can’t read and teaches her in secret. She grows to love reading and uses this new ability to read to the little boy hiding in her foster home by stealing a book from the Nazis. Which side will you lean towards: the cost of hiding and stealing or the value of kindness in a child’s world of war and despair?
5. Schindler’s List
Imagine being this big, selfish corporate business owner and making a list of Jewish people to keep to make millions off of WWII. Then, coming to realize you just inadvertently saved the lives of those people you thought you cared so little about? That’s exactly what Oskar Schindler did in 1939. Hoping to profit from the war, he searched for a way to keep his factory running, so he made his list and employed as many as possible. In what was meant to be a selfish move, Oskar eventually begins caring for and knowing his staff. When the Nazis start killing off all Jews, Schindler’s list becomes their saving grace as he uses his factory as the reason to keep them alive and thrive, but also save their lives. What a heart-wrenching moment it is to watch Oskar see what he is capable of doing when he opens his heart.
6. The Diary of Anne Frank
One of the most famous movies about Holocaust times and tribulations comes from the diary of a young girl who spends most of her life trapped in the attic with her family and another. Anne Frank had to live in this cramped attic with her family; no privacy, no life, no fresh air. So what does a young girl do with all her waking hours? Anne decided to write down the day-to-day events of her family’s life. While they were all eventually caught, one survived and returned years later to the attic and found his daughter’s diary. This story is not what you would think to find when researching the history of such a terrible time for the Jewish community. Still, watching time move through the eyes of a young girl who can’t even go outside to see what is happening around her is a new perspective.
7. Defiance
Let’s take a look at a different point of view, one of retaliation for what happened to those who didn’t escape. Three brothers, Tuvia, Asasel, and Zus, seek refuge in their childhood fort in the forest. Daily they struggle to stay hidden and survive in order to avenge the massacre coming from Nazi soldiers. This portrayal of the war efforts during the Holocaust is one of death, fear, anger, and survival. As they continue to fight, others hear of their plans and success and rally to join them. Will all three survive, or will someone sacrifice his life to save the others? The trials and tribulations of their fight make for a compelling argument for survival in a debate class or a great thesis for a history paper. Where others will run to survive, these three brothers band together and turn to face their enemies, fighting for their fallen and their future.
8. Conspiracy
As the title implies, a plot is afoot, one to turn the minds of a few towards the terms of the “Final Solution.” When the time comes to “clean house” in Germany, LT Eichmann calls a meeting to start the process, but a small group isn’t as keen on the idea as the rest. So, a conspiracy was formed to persuade the rest of the committee to change their minds and remove all Jews from Germany. This is the dark side of the war, the place where dirty deeds are created and executed. When writing about this process, you must step into the shoes of those who fought to eliminate a group of innocent people in a time when war was real and money spoke volumes. A dining room table meant for family time and happy meals is turned into a conference room to turn the minds of those who were brave enough to voice opposition.
9. Life is Beautiful
Here is a plot twist for you: humor and love during war and despair. A young waiter finds and falls in love with a young schoolteacher. They marry, have a little boy, and live happily ever after…until the Germans come to end it all. Separated from each other, Guido, the gentle souled waiter, and their son, Giosue, are taken to one camp while Dora, the pretty teacher, is taken with the rest of the females. Where in lies the humor, you say? Guido uses an unconventional method of explaining the concentration camps and their new lives in a different way, explaining to young Giosue that this is a game of sorts. Guido is determined to shelter his son from the death and despair of camp life with love, laughter, and games. Where everyone around them is waiting to die, Guido shows his son that life is, in fact, beautiful.
10. Into the Arms of Strangers
What a turn of events! This film tells the story of another country getting involved in the future of the Jewish community trapped in the stronghold of Germany and the Nazis. Britain takes a huge leap against Germany in a rescue mission only movies can portray (and this movie does it splendidly!). Over 10,000 Jews were covertly ushered across the borders and into foster homes or hostels in Britain. Sounds like a wonderful storyline to a horrific time in history, but many of the children, hoping to find their parents on the other side, never did get to reunite with their families. Based on a true story, the surviving children met with journalists and producers some 60 years later to retell what they thought would be a happy ending for all. Little did they know that running into the arms of these strangers would save them but change their lives forever in a different way.
Use these Holocaust Movies to Win your History Debate
Whether you have a genuine love of movies about the Holocaust or you’re searching for help with your history assignment, you will no doubt find these films intriguing and informational. The portrayals of different viewpoints can give you a fuller picture of what really happened all those years ago. Ask yourself what method of survival you would take and if you would keep to yourself or tell the world your story. Life inside a concentration camp, love, betrayal, survival, and contempt for being a survivor are all here in this list of movies. So, the next time you find yourself in need of a good debate for your lit class, pick a side and watch the stories unfold. Maybe you will be the source next time someone sends a group chat asking, “Someone do my assignment for me,” and you can send them this list to use as a reference.