Holocaust Education Through Film
Welcome to our Holocaust Education through Film page, where history comes to life through the power of cinema. Our mission is to provide grade 6 teachers with guidance when choosing meaningful and age-appropriate films to use in their classrooms. We will be adding to this page as new films become available.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
While this is often a go-to film among teachers when showing younger students movies about the Holocaust in school, the truth is that this film should be avoided in classroom settings for a multitude of reasons. To an even greater extent than Schindler's List, this film largely utilizes the perspective of the perpetrators rather than the victims and lacks any historical accuracies that may have redeemed the film from its ideological and moral mistakes. The film overly humanizes the perpetrators and creates, according to scholar Rich Brownstein, "a false perception of the Holocaust and of Germans without ever hinting at the false narrative"(Holocaust Cinema Complete, pg. 83).
Not recommended for classroom viewing.
Not recommended for personal teacher viewing.
Schindler's List (1993)
This film is not recommended to be shown to sixth grade students to educate them about the Holocaust. While the film is extremely well made and won many awards for its filmmaking merit, the subject matter is far too mature for a class of sixth graders. The violence is shown in great detail and would only serve to distract the children from valuable lessons they can learn about the Holocaust and antisemitism. The film runs over 3hrs in length, which is also excessively long for classroom viewing.
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Scholars also debate the value of Schindler's List as a tool of Holocaust education due to it being a portrait of the Holocaust through the eyes of a "redeemed" perpetrator, rather than taking the perspective of the victims.
Not recommended for classroom viewing.
Personal teacher viewings recommended with caution.
Night and Fog (1956)
Largely considered to be one of the best documentaries ever created about the Holocaust, Alan Renais' exceptional film is actually not recommended for a sixth-grade class. While the content of the film does not contain any violence, language or nudity that would be harmful for sixth grade students to witness, the film does have some unavoidable formal aspects that would distract the students and prevent them from engaging with the content. The film is quite old, being originally released in 1956. The film is also French, which means that the narrator who is explaining the images on screen is speaking in French, meaning the students would have to read subtitles to understand what is happening.
This amazing film should not be avoided in all classrooms; once students reach an age where they are more patient and accepting with subtitles and films that are quite old, this is one of the best films to show about the experience of Jews in the camps during World War 2. It is highly recommended for teachers to view on their own, as it is short and contains a wealth of important knowledge relating to the Nazi concentration camp system.
Classroom-viewing recommended with caution.
Personal teacher viewing recommended.
The Island on Bird Street (1997)
The film follows a young boy as he survives on his own in the Warsaw Ghetto and is based on a semi-autobiographical book of the same name. The film is a great choice to show a sixth-grade class, as it can introduce some significant details about the Warsaw Ghetto and the Holocaust to sixth graders, all seen through the perspective of a child. The film is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for violence, though it is not graphic or gratuitous by any means.
Rich Brownstein notes that the film, though not up to par with the quality of some other recommended Holocaust films, finds its merit as an introductory film for children and should not be seen by adults as a film that goes beyond that (Holocaust Cinema Complete, pg. 152). This makes the film an excellent choice to show to younger students in a classroom, but teachers looking to find a film for personal viewing about the subject should look elsewhere. The Pianist (2002) would be a much stronger choice for a teacher to watch on their own if they are looking for a film about the Warsaw Ghetto.
Recommended for classroom viewing.
Not recommended for personal teacher viewing.
Life is Beautiful (1997)
Life is Beautiful is a about a Jewish father and son imprisoned in an unnamed concentration camp during the Second World War. The father, who wishes to reunite himself and the boy with his mother, fashions a series of games to distract the boy from the dire situation they are in. While the general light-hearted tone of the film may make it tempting to show to a class of sixth graders, this should be avoided. Rich Brownstein believes that the film's presentation of the Holocaust as a "game" to the boy as well as the general "feel-good" nature of the movie make it an irresponsible representation of the events (Holocaust Cinema Complete, 81-82). The film also contains several historical inaccuracies and unfortunate ambiguity of certain important details that detract its worth for a teacher's personal viewing of the film.
Not rcommended for classroom viewing.
Not recommended for personal teacher viewing.
The Tattooed Torah (2019)
This is a short animated film based on the acclaimed children's book by Marvell Ginsberg and Martin Lemelman. The film recounts a young Jewish boy's experience during the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia and his connection with a very special Torah that is stolen by the Nazis. The tremendous weight and severity of the Holocaust is not diminished in any way in The Tattooed Torah, while still managing to be an appropriate movie to show to a classroom of young children. The events are told from the young Jewish boy's perspective, which will allow the students to experience the events of the film through a perspective they can easily understand. This film also can introduce students to the cultural and religious aspects of Jewish life that can help them better understand what the Nazis were trying to destroy when they attacked the Jewish populations of Europe.
The film does not go into specific factual details surrounding the Holocaust, though this is not a fault, as the film's strength lies in its ability to allow the viewer to see the events of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young boy. It remains insular to his experience, not expanding the perspective beyond his point of view and attempting to create a documentation of the entire Holocaust. Through this approach, the film reaches a truth that is unattainable through data and facts alone.
Recommended for classroom viewing.
Recommended for personal teacher viewing.
The Number on Great Grandfather’s Arm (2018)
This film uses a combination of historical footage and animation to illustrate the stories told to a young boy by his great-grandfather who was a child during the Holocaust. This is a short film that focuses on witness testimony, making it an excellent resource to show a classroom. The roughly 20-minute runtime will allow teachers to properly educate students about the Holocaust in an appropriate manner without requiring the commitment of a feature length film. The students will gain an understanding of the events and their significance by hearing the stories from a man who was roughly their age during the Second World War. The students will likely have a strong empathetic connection to the film, as the dynamic between the boy and his great grandfather will likely remind them of a relationship they have with an elder family member.
Recommended for classroom viewing.
Recommended for personal teacher viewing.
Ruth: A Little Girl's Big Journey (2021)
This is a short film based on the experiences of Dr. Ruth Westheimer as young girl during the Holocaust. Dr. Ruth recounts her experiences of survival and these stories are visualised through animation, spanning from the early years of the Nazi regime to the end of the War when Ruth embarked for America.
This is an excellent film to show a sixth-grade class, as it centres on the testimony and memories of a survivor, forgoing any historical inaccuracies that are common in narrative Holocaust films. The students will learn about the experiences of the Holocaust directly from a woman who was roughly their age during the time she is recounting. The students will therefore have an even greater chance for empathy and understanding, as they will know the events they are told are true and were experienced by someone at an age they can relate to. The animation simply and elegantly brings these stories to life in a manner that will surely engage with the students on an aesthetic level.
Recommended for classroom viewing.
Recommended for personal teacher viewing.