SHOAH

“SHOAH”: film (dir. Claude Lanzmann, 1985) (online link to film accessible here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXweT1BgQMk
Deadline: November 23

Step 1: Watch the designated segment from Claude Landzman’s 1985 documentary “Shoah.” Watch it again. Then watch it again. (The entire documentary is over 9 hours long! But you only need to watch a small portion of this)

Step 2: In essay form, analyze the segment and evaluate the way it (1) recounts events associated with the Holocaust and World War II (2) implicates racial/ethnic and economic policies of Nazi Europe and how the individuals interviewed experienced those policies (as spectators? As participants? As a witnesses? And reflect upon (3) how the policies of Nazi Europe specifically impacted individuals such as these.
Consider the following questions:

Who was interviewed in the segment(s) you watched and what do their testimonies contribute to the study of the period?
What are the methods the director uses to reconstruct the history of the period?
How, if at all, has this text changed your understanding of the Holocaust (Shoah), if at all?
What is the importance of this documentary film as tool for learning?
Why is important that we encounter the testimony of a person, such as this one, who lived through the period?
How does this film and its subject relate to our class “Shaping of the Modern World?
What can we learn about other cultures and histories from this text?

Remember to work on keeping a focused narrative and pay special attention to structure.
N.B. When you refer to specific segments of the documentary, you can cite them by referring to the time into the segment (i.e. 7 minutes, 12 seconds).