8.560 minSeason 1 • Episode 6
LatestThe reality of life in the concentration camps was revealed upon the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in 1945. But what was the fate of the remaining prisoners and the SS garrisons? The final days of the war and its immediate aftermath is a story as shocking as it is surprising, with Jewish survivors facing appalling treatment in their home countries and large numbers of SS perpetrators remaining hidden.
This documentary series tackles one of history's most horrifying subjects: the Holocaust and the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Production
Unprecedented access to Auschwitz archives and perpetrator testimonies.
Writing
Rees refuses easy moral comfort—shows how ordinary people built hell.
Acting
Survivor testimonies, no performances needed. The truth performs itself.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Laurence Rees spent ten years securing interviews with former SS guards, many speaking for the first and only time. Several died before the series aired.
The series pioneered using perpetrator testimony alongside survivor accounts, creating a documentary ethics debate about platforming Nazi voices that continues in Holocaust education today.
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