Holocaust (miniseries)
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Holocaust was an Emmy Award-winning television miniseries broadcast in four parts in 1978 on the NBC television network. Although the miniseries won several awards and received critical acclaim, it was criticized by some including noted Holocaust author and survivor Elie Wiesel who (according to the New York Times) called it "untrue, offensive (and) cheap." [1]
It tells the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of the Weiss family of German Jews, and from the point of view of a German family where the husband is a rising SS member, who gradually becomes a merciless, bloodthirsty war criminal. Holocaust highlighted numerous important events which occurred during World War II, such as Kristallnacht, the creation of Jewish ghettos and later, the use of gas chambers. The series ultimately attempted to portray the atrocity of this genocide to viewers.
Holocaust was broadcast in four parts from April 16 to April 19. It was extremely popular, earning a 49% market share. It was also popular in Europe and had a major impact when it was broadcast in West Germany in January 1979. The airing in West Germany had a direct impact on the removal of the statute of limitations clause in cases involving Nazi war crimes.
The nine-and-a-half hour program starred Meryl Streep, James Woods and Michael Moriarty, as well as a large supporting cast. It was directed by Marvin J. Chomsky, a veteran of countless television specials including ABC's highly successful miniseries Roots, which aired a few years earlier. The teleplay was written by novelist-producer Gerald Green, who later adapted the script into a novel.
Holocaust won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. It also won Emmys for stars Streep, Moriarty and Blanche Baker. Chomsky and Green also won Emmys. Morton Gould's music was nominated, but did not win. Gould's music score was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score for a Movie or Television Program. Co-stars David Warner, Sam Wanamaker, Tovah Feldshuh, Fritz Weaver and Rosemary Harris were all nominated for Emmys, and they too, did not win. However, Harris won a Golden Globe Award (for Best TV Actress - Drama) for her performance, as did Moriarty (for Best TV Actor - Drama).
The program was produced by Robert "Buzz" Berger, and was filmed on location in Austria and West Berlin.
The miniseries also created controversy for supposedly trivializing the Holocaust. The television format meant the realism was muted, while the fact that NBC made a great deal of money from advertising sold around it led to accusations that the tragedy was being commercialized. Its creators defended it by arguing that it was an important factor in developing and maintaining awareness of the Holocaust.
[edit] The Cast
| Character | Actor/Actress |
| Adolf Eichmann | Tom Bell |
| Rudi Weiss | Joseph Bottoms |
| Helena Slomova | Tovah Feldshuh |
| Heinrich Palitz | Marius Goring |
| Berta Palitz-Weiss | Rosemary Harris |
| Heinrich Müller | Anthony Haygarth |
| Heinrich Himmler | Ian Holm |
| Uncle Sasha | Lee Montague |
| Erik Dorf | Michael Moriarty |
| Marta Dorf | Deborah Norton |
| Mr. Lowy | George Rose |
| Uncle Kurt Dorf | Robert Stephens |
| Inga Helms-Weiss | Meryl Streep |
| Moses Weiss | Sam Wanamaker |
| Reinhard Heydrich | David Warner |
| Dr. Josef Weiss | Fritz Weaver |
| Karl Weiss | James Woods |
| Hermann Höfle | Sean Arnold |
| Hans Frank | John Bailey |
| Anna Weiss | Blanche Baker |
| Hans Helms | Michael Beck |
| Karl Rahm | John Collin |
| Rudolf Höss | David Daker |
| Mr. Karp | Vernon Dobtcheff |
| Mr. Biberstein | Edward Hardwicke |
| Otto Ohlendorf | Nigel Hawthorne |
| Mrs. Lowy | Käte Jaenicke |
| Dr. Kohn | Charles Korvin |
| Mr. Helms | Werner Kreindl |
| Mr. Zalmann | Stanley Lebor |
| Aaron | Jeremy Levy |
| Paul Blobel | T. P. McKenna |
| Ernst Kaltenbrunner | Hans Meyer |
| Mrs. Palitz | Nora Minor |
| Maria Kalova | Irene Prador |
| Mr. Felscher | George Pravda |
| Mr. Tesch | Oscar Quitak |
| Mr. Levin | Osman Ragheb |
| Arthur Nebe | John Rees |
| Bernhard Lichtenberg | Llewellyn Rees |
| Mr. Kovel | Toby Salaman |
| Mordechaj Anielewicz | Murray Salem |
| Mrs. Helms | Nina Sandt |
| Mr. Weinberg | Cyril Shaps |
| John Cassidy | Robert Sherman |
| Rabbi Samuel | Gabor Vernon |
| Mr. Frey | Peter Vogel |
| Peter Dorf as Child | Jim Anbach |
| Eva | Isolde Barth |
| Dr. Heintren | Hubert Berger |
| Immigration Official | Gottfried Blahovsky |
| Nadya | Vera Borek |
| Rabbi Korsch | Martin Brandt |
| Seder Man | Peter Capell |
| Vanya | Ulli Chivall |
| Buchenwald concentration camp-Sergeant | Otto Clemens |
| Yuri | Peter Garrell |
| Peter Dorf as Teenager | Edward Gilkrist |
| Berald | Klaus Guth |
| S.S. Guard | Berno Hall |
| Soviet Captain | Nikolai Hantoff |
| Auschwitz concentration camp-Sergeant | Ernst Hausknost |
| Laura Dorf as Child | Carrie Hill |
| Laura Dorf as Teenager | Courtney Hill |
| Buchenwald concentration camp-Prisoner | Karl Hoess |
| Gestapo-Policeman | Harry Hornisch |
| Mr. Pfennenstiel | Helmut Janatsch |
| Sarah the Nurse | Kathina Kaiser |
| Mr. Engelmann | Wolfgang Leisowsky |
| Sofia Alatri | Hanna Lessing |
| Woman with Infant | Miriam Mahler |
| Anton | Rudolf Melichar |
| Border Guard | Peter Neusser |
| Auschwitz concentration camp-Kapo | Elvira Neustaedtl |
| Aaron's Classmate | Jan Odle |
| Sergeant Foltz | Stephan Paryla |
| Prague Policeman | Walter Scheuer |
| Polish Policeman | Karl Schulz |
| Warsaw Ghetto Policeman | Ortwin Speer |
| Buchenwald concentration camp Typist | Erwin Steinhauer |
| Kapo Meinick | Bruno Thost |
| Greek Jew | Joe Trummer |
| Sacristan | Peter Weihs |
| Berlin Doctor | Götz von Langheim |
[edit] External links
- Holocaust at the Internet Movie Database
- Holocaust at The Museum of Broadcast Communications website
