This week you watched
The Grey Zone. The film is based on the eyewitness account of Dr. Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian Jew chosen by Josef Mengele to be the head pathologist at Auschwitz. The film showcases the moral delimma of the the Sonderkommando Jews and follows their plans to carry out the armed revolt that took place at Auschwitz.
Please post your reflections about the film.
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| (Dr. Nyiszli is pictured in the photo wearing the white lab coat when U.S. troops liberated Donau concentration camp.) |
28 comments:
I thought this film was especially unique because it seemed to capture the experiences of several different people positioned at the crematoriums. The film portrayed the events through the perspectives of the Sonderkommando Jews and other Jews such as the women who had the powder and the young girl who survived the gas. It seemed as though the Sonderkommando Jews faced many internal conflicts with their own consciences about what was right and wrong as they were forced to assist in the extermination of other Jews. In order to keep moving forward they needed to follow orders without thinking twice about it. Ultimately; however, they knew what their fate would be. The film also captured the internal struggle that the women with the powder faced when they were questioned about where the powder was going. In the end, one of them committed suicide by running into the electric fence and the other was shot along with many other innocent women who had no involvement with the powder. Escape was basically disregarded in the film because the workers and the Somerkommando Jews recognized its futility. At the end of the film, I think the girl who had survived the gas narrated a scene in which the crematoriums were actively spewing out smoke and producing the ashes of the deceased Jews. I thought that this scene was particularly haunting because the girl explained that the new workers were covered in the ashes of the deceased and in that way, they were all connected - one group of workers being replaced with another just until they would be killed as well and the process would continue. This film was difficult to watch, but it was very educational because of all of the information about the different people at the crematoriums and the executions themselves.
This film showed a side to the Jewish persecution during the Holocaust that I had never before seen: the Sonderkommando. Before watching this film, I had assumed that it was solely the Germans and members of the Nazi party who were involved in the persecution of the Jews, however, The Grey Zone opened my eyes to the extensive cruelty involved in making Jewish people persecute their own families and loved ones. I still find it almost unbelievable that the Sonderkommando would be willing to aid in the expulsion of the Jews after watching their own people suffer, but during this time in history, people did practically anything to survive or to save their families. Even the recreated images from the film broke my heart and made me realize the true evil power of man during the events of the Holocaust, and it made the harsh reality of the Holocaust even more formidable in my mind.
The Grey Zone affected me greatly because it provided a different point of view than most of the documentaries we have watched in class. Rather than discuss the suffering of all Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz, the film chose to focus on a single Sonderkommando unit responsible for the extermination and disposal of their fellow men and women. This approach made the killings at Auschwitz much more personal, showing the affects on each prisoner as he or she sells their soul in order to survive one more day. The film did not focus on the prisoners versus their captors, but on the struggle of each individual prisoner during their time at the camp. It was interesting and somewhat disturbing to see how prisoners would turn against each other, instead of band together.
I liked the movie because it showed the perspective of the Holocaust and the concentration camps from a Jewish doctor who was a prisoner. I thought it was interesting that the Nazis let him live and let him live comfortable since he helped them out with their experiments. I can understand why he would do that because he protected himself and his family but at the same time he was helping the Nazis kill and do other terrible things to the Jews. I also thought that it was horrible how the Nazi leaders would torture the innocent Jews to try and get answers from the ones who knew about the smuggling of the powder into the camp. They went down a line and just killed person after person and I can't imagine how someone could go and do that and not have any feelings about it.
The Grey Zone opened my eyes to what happened within the camps on a daily basis, besides just rambling off names and statistics. It showed how devious of a plan it was to use a special command of Jews to lead their fellow prisoners to their deaths. I had never known that Jews shepherded prisoners into the gas chambers, moved the bodies into the crematoria, and burned them themselves...I had always thought it was Nazis. The plan was cunning: if someone just like you was telling that you'd survive and come out the other end of the "showers", without any other knowledge you'd probably find some relief in following them. It goes to show that under pressure, people will often do whatever they can to buy just a little more time for their life or their family.
Before watching this film, I had no idea that Sonderkommandos existed. I had always been under the impression that it was simply Nazi grunts who carried out the dirty work in the camps and crematoriums. This film fascinated me with this new knowledge in several ways. Firstly, the Sonderkommandos knew what their fate was going to be, but they willing gave up their humanity for a few more weeks of life. While I'm sure many people watching this would think that what they did was wrong and horrible, but, as they said in the movie, you can never know just what you will do to hold on to life. And that is just about anything. In this case, I feel as though the Sonderkommandos thought that the end justified the means, in that they would hopefully be able to damage the camp in such a way that they may save more lives in the future. Also, these men knew that they were dead. The notion of escape was ridiculous, instead they focused on what they could do with what little life they had to make a difference for others. Even if they could outlast the war and the camps, they would not want to continue to live.
I enjoyed The Grey Zone because it showed a different point of view than most of the other videos we have watched in class. I learned about the Sonderkommandos, as I had no idea that they existed before this. The Sonderkommandos knew what their fate was, but they were still willing to kill others for a few more weeks of their own life. I found the last scene especially sad when the men were lying on their backs preparing to die any second. At this point the men knew that they at least tried to make a difference by trying to start an uprising. The film did a good job at displaying how cruel the Nazi’s really were and how they had no respect for human life.
I wasn't in class during this film.
The grey zone had a large impact on me. Before watching the film, I had never seen what the true conditions were like in the concentration camps, specifically Auschwitz. One part of the film that really stuck with me was when the main character was talking about a man who had to put his entire convoy into the furnace. This included his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren. Another part that surprised me was how easily the ss officers could kill people. When try were trying to get information from the women at the camp. The officers would ask the women a question, and if they didn't answer, they would just shoot the other women in the back of the head, like it was no big deal. Overall, I think this was a very interesting movie and it was eye opening to see what the camps were like on a day to day basis.
This film was very interesting because we saw a scenerio where a certain jew was considered to be very important for the research of the Nazis. The doctor also had to choose between him and his family's life or weather or not to fight with his fellow jews. This was definetly a hard time for him, but I think he did the right thing.
I thought the film was extremely intriguing. It showed a different perspective of one of the Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. I thought it was very hard to watch when the men were carrying the naked dead Jews that were previously gassed to the crematory. Another part that really stuck to me when one of the officers brutally beat the Jewish man who called him a liar to death and then just took his watch and when on of the workers had to put his whole entire family into the crematory. Overall, I think this was a great film to show because it showed how the Jews and prisoners in the camps were so devoted and resilient
This film presented the moral dilemma faced by the Sonderkommandos. Before watching the film I didn't know anything about Sonderkommandos or the fact that the death camp laborers were Jewish people who traded this labor for better living conditions. While I can't make a judgment about what they chose to do to survive, it was quite disturbing to see some of what was in the film. I was surprised to see the waist high pile of ash left by the dump truck, thinking that one cremated person fits in an urn.
I thought the Grey Zone was a very shocking and appealing movie. I compare this film to something like a bad car wreck, its awful, but you just can't take your eyes off it. There were so many awful things that were shown in this film that were just so eye opening and shocking. Between the cremation and gassing scenes, I couldn't of imagined what it would have been like to been apart of this.
This film showesd the jews protecting themselves because the Nazis started killing them. The Nazis captured the women and they started killing them and their children too if they do not say the name of the persoon they are looking for. I dont know how to react because it makes me angry and sad to know the Jews were killing Jews.I was suprised that one man killed his familly.
I thought that it really showed how difficult life was in the camps and what some Jews did in order to stay alive for one more day. Many parts of the film were disturbing, especially the gas chambers, the torturing, and the shootings that took place in front of everyone. I do not understand how some prisoners kept their spirits up the entire time. They had to deal with so much everyday knowing that they could be killed at any moment. The Nazi officers had no sympathy whatsoever and were not effected by killing thousands of people everyday.
I found this film to be a great impact on me due to the different views the film portrayed. By showing not only the Jewish people being killed in the gas chambers emotions, but also the Sonderkimmando Jews reactions and realizations to their actions. I was aware that some of the Jews worked for the Nazis for their own protection, but I thought they were just as heartless. this movie showed me they were ashamed,scared of their action, and had to watch and kill people they knew. Along with the viewpoints, the most disturbing part of the film was when they shot each Sonderkommando Jew and then as the little girl who survived the gas chamber was running away from the camp they shot her as well.
I wasn't in class for most of this film
The Grey Zone had more of an effect on me because of how vile it was. The film definitely showed things that other films censored out. This actually helmped me learn more about how absolutly HORRIBLEY the Nazis treated the Jews. When the officers lined everyone up and shot them in the back of the head one by one, while the two woman watched, in an attempt to make them reveal the truth about the powder, I practically got sick to my stomach. That scene, and when they shot every sinlg eperson laying in the grass just to make the little girl watch people die, were the two scenes that I think really showed how terrible of people the Nazis were. It made me really angry and sad to watch.
I liked the film because it provided a different view point than that of most documenteries. Instead of talking simply about jewish prisoners, it talked about the positions that some jews held in the camps that challenged them mentally. The internal conflict and moral implications that came with the positions held by jewish doctors and cremators was incredible. These sonderkommandos were in charge of killing their own people, just to keep their families, and thereselves, alive.
I agree with griffin that one of the main focuses of the film with the moral dilema that many jews faced. Whether to fight with the other jews, or take on different roles to protect themselves.
The Grey Zone gave me a lot of insight into a different perspective on the Holocaust as well as taught me a lot I didn’t know before watching the film. I did not know there was such a thing as Sonderkommandos in the concentration camps but it makes sense knowing just how many people they killed in a day, I guess they needed the extra help to preserve order. I think that it is a really cruel concept. On one hand you have innocent Jewish people that don’t want anything to do in killing other people or aiding the enemy Germans, but they entice and bribe people by agreeing to treat them a little more nicely than other people, give them more privileges, more food. But the Jews know it’s a position that only lasts four months. It’s extremely degrading in a way because they are forcing people into a corner, where they have to turn their backs on their own people for a handful of benefits only to get killed four months later. I think the movie did a good job of showing the merciless way in which people were murdered. Human lives were truly objectified, and it was so casual almost like killing an insect or a plant. A really powerful scene for me was when the two women were being put on a sort of trial to give up information on the gun powder and information on the resistance. The German officers were going down in a line shooting their friends until one of them spoke but neither did and ended up taking their own lives, one by running into the electric fence. I thought it showed just how brutal the German officers were, but also the strength of the women to refuse to give up any information and take their own lives over letting the Nazis kill their whole unit.
I liked Kate’s insight on the end of the film, how all the Jews that passed through the camps were connected in a way through the ash of the deceased before them. I think they were also connected by the cycle they were forced into; each position of sonderkommando or worker, the piece of clothing you were assigned, the bed you slept in, they were all cycled and recycled through all the people that came through the camps and it unified them as a source of terrible events that occurred there.
My opinion on this movie is that i thought it was very gruesome as the most gruesome part was the killing of all the women. Especially the one girl that ran away into the fence and was electrocuted. it was very awful seeing that. Also, when the guy beat the old man to death just because he wouldnt give him his watch. So overall this movie showed me what the Nazis where really capable for and what torture techniques they had.
Before watching this film, I had no knowledge about the Sonderkommando. I never knew that there were Jews that were given the job of having to exterminate other Jews. I had always assumed that it was all German control. Something that surprised me was how resistant the women were in not giving away any of the information to the Nazi officials, even if it meant their lives were to be taken; I thought it was incredibly admirable.
I personally found this film very disturbing to watch. Despite everything we have done in this course and everything I had previosuly learned, this really helped bring everything to life and helped me comprehend how bad the Nazis treated the Jews. I am very happy I saw this.
This film was very eye opening and brought to life the ridiculous cruelty displayed by the Nazi's during the Nazi's. It's surreal how nasty and senseless the Nazi's were. The lack of respect for life is shown in this documentary and it crushes me to watch. It makes you think how someone could ever treat another human being that way. The evil ways of the Nazi's are heartbreaking and very difficult to watch.
i was absent
This film had a common theme throughout, insanity. This was depicted through several scenes. The first was when the young girl was found alive inside the gas chamber, just by looking at her and into her eyes, I could feel her pain and confusion. This was the same with the other Jews/Austrian's, they all acted like cattle as they knew they were going to die. The two scenes that were particularly troubling for me for me to see were when the gas chambers were closed and the people inside were screaming as the chemicals were poured in. The other scene was when the Somerkommando was explaining how a grandfather had to push his wife, children, and grandchildren all into the crematoria, essentially wiping out his entire heritage. This would be impossibly difficult to handle. Overall, this was a surreal film, but the reality of it is very striking, troubling, and made me realize how much of a travesty was occurring in Auchwitz.
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