Film Evidence That Exposed Nazi Crimes | THIRTEEN

After World War II, the U.S. War Department commissioned American filmmaker Pare Lorentz to document the Nuremberg trials—the first international trials to prosecute prominent Nazis for crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. Conducted by the Allied Powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union, the trials were an unprecedented attempt to confront the Holocaust and wartime atrocities through evidence, images, and the public record. This 1961 program from the THIRTEEN archives was a rare opportunity for Americans to see parts of the film Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today and a conversation between Lorentz and historian Charles Rockwell. Lorentz reflects on the immense challenge of transforming hundreds of hours of disturbing footage into a film whose purpose was to show Germans the truth of Nazi crimes. Lorentz speaks to the responsibility of documenting these atrocities not only so they would be remembered, but to help ensure they would never happen again. Rockwell responds: "Anybody that we would call a civilized human being must be tremendously shaken by seeing that film." Lorentz reviewed more than 500,000 feet of footage for the documentary, grappling with the brutality of the Holocaust and the Nazis' own documentation of it. Originally produced in German as part of a postwar re-education effort in Germany, Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today reveals how the trials were intended not just to punish, but to warn—to insist that these crimes were not aberrations, but human actions capable of recurring. Most Americans had no chance to see this film until decades later. This WNET broadcast stands as an early meditation on collective memory, moral responsibility, and the dangers of indifference. Subscribe to a THIRTEEN newsletter to stay informed: https://www.thirteen.org/email-prefer... This 1961 discussion and excerpt of the original film, from the THIRTEEN Archives, is part of The WNET Group's Honoring Our Stories: Jewish Culture and Remembering the Holocaust. Join us for programs about Jewish heritage and traditions, stories of survival and perseverance, profiles of community and international heroes, and films from the THIRTEEN archives offering civil discourse on overcoming prejudices and difference. Thumbnail image courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University /Wikimedia Please SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed:    / @thirteenwnet   For full episodes, check out http://thirteen.org/ Facebook:   / thirteenwnet   Instagram:   / thirteenwnet   TikTok:   / thirteenwnet   ----------------- THIRTEEN is one of America’s most respected and innovative public media providers. Part of The WNET Group, THIRTEEN is a unique cultural and educational institution that harnesses the power of television and electronic media to inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire. The flagship public television station of the New York City tri-state area and the most-watched public television channel in the nation, THIRTEEN reaches millions of people with programming that celebrates arts and culture, offers insightful commentary on the news of the day, explores the worlds of science and nature, and invites people of all ages to have fun while learning.