ID

FBW001208      Documentary

Country / Year

Israel, 1972

Original Title

Why Didn't They Bomb Auschwitz

Directed by

Daniel Shalit, Hananya Amotz

Produced by

Israel Broadcasting Authority, Jerusalem

Staff

Producer: Hananya Amotz; On-screen commentary: Yaron London; Script, var: Hananya Amotz; Camera: Emanuel Aldema; Animation: Serge Rosenberg; Historical consultant: Yehuda Bauer, Shlomo Aharonson, Erich Kulka

Appearance

Bezalel Moldovitch (Survivor from Budapest); Benjamin Axsim; Moshe Sharett (als: Moshe Shertok) (Jewish Agency); David Ben Gurion (Jewish Agency); Nachum Goldmann (World Jewish Congress); Albert Stein; Yosef Linton (Main secretary to Caim Weizmann); Leonard Cheshies (Pilot for allies); Charles Cower (British prisoner); Merach Bukie; Eliahu Dovkin (Jewish Agency)

Mentioned

Tova Schteines; John Pelee; [Herr] Mastella; Richard Law; Chaim Weizmann (WZO, President); [Herr] McClellar; John Pable; John McLewis; John McCloy; Winston Churchill

Length

591,3 m / 53'54''

Format

16mm/sw/1:1,37

Abstract

The film carefully reconstructs the debate in the second half of 1944 among the allies, whether Auschwitz should be bombed or not. Bezalel Moldovitch, who managed to informed diplomatic circles. The film traces the diplomatic and strategic debates among the allies and the Vatican as well as the several attempts of the escapees and Jewish organizations to convince anyone to drop bombs. Reasons for not bombing Auschwitz were expectations of minimal damage, imprecise plans, endangering inmates or the need of all forces at the western front. It shows the conflict between Jewish Organizations and the US and British Army, to save “their” people first.

Subject Terms

Allies; Auschwitz (Entire camp complex); Auschwitz II; Budapest; Refugees; I.G. Farbenindustrie AG; Monowitz (KZ); Nuremberg; Hungarians

Holdings

- Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, Jerusalem: 591,3 m / 53'54''; 16mm

Contents (detailed)

Shotlist (- ft):
- 030 Auschwitz concentration camp and the adjoining village
- 042 Shots and blueprits of Auschwitz
- 055 Blueprints of Auschwitz - more than 39 camps
- 062 Train tracks to Auschwitz in snow. Train tracks (stills)
- 065 Train tracks in snow (stills). Train which operated between Austria and Auschwitz (stills). Factory of Monowitz (stills)
- 100 Trains visible from main road. Trees (stills)
- 115 Inmates in Birkenau (stills)
- 120 Yaron London
- 145 Auschwitz (still). Model of Auschwitz
- 150 Man speaking
- 170 Diagrams of Auschwitz
- 190 Man explains that by 1944 the Nazis had learned to kill more efficiently - 3000 people a day were murdered
- 232 Man speaking in front of tracks
- 270 19. March 1944: Newspapers announcing the German invasion of Hungary and the attempt to save Jews in Hungary
- 290 London talks about how nobody knew Hungarian Jews were to be slain
- 310 Bezalel Moldovitch (Survivor from Budapest) talks about his and a friend's escape from Auschwitz
- 360 Man speaks: heard about Jews who escaped
- 428 Moldovitch: No one believed then about what was going on. Only after a three day investigation interviewing escapees did people begin to believe
- 453 Man continues speaking. The escapees' stories were so detailed that he had to believe them
- 480 Moldovitch and man talking
- 500 Tova Schteines wrote protocol to Switzerland
- 522 Sketch of Auschwitz, drawn by Moldovitch, given to allies
- 543 Train tracks to Birkenau (stills). CU: Paper report written by two escapees
- 560 Author of report brought report, sketches and maps to Allies
- 635 Report and sketches shown: Proposals on how to bomb Auschwitz
- 730 24. June 1944: Memo written by John Pelee. See London. Proposal to bomb tracks
- 753 Benjamin Axsim. Picture of report. Mastella got memo but recommended not to act on it
- 788 6. July 1944: Moshe Shertok (Sharett) (Jewish Agency) sends a Hebrew telegram addressed to David Ben Gurion (Jewish Agency) in Jerusalem and Nachum Goldmann (World Jewish Congress) in New York
- 805 Goldmann speaking. He recommended that Auschwitz and the train tracks should be bombed. He spoke with a British general who assured Goldmann that they had enough power to accomplish the mission
- 871 Axsim: No one took them seriously. Told to put pressure on the Allied forces because important to end the war
- 910 AV: Nurenberg. Bomb drops on German cities
- 933 Albert Stein
- 1008 15. July 1944 11: Days after last report. Jews going to trains (still). Report to Yosef Linton (Main secretary to Caim Weizmann) from Weizmann (WZO, President) that the government will check again
- 1021 Moldovitch. Man shows model
- 1041 Jews being rounded up to be sent to Auschwitz (still)
- 1093 9. Januray 1944: Report from Richard Law to Weizmann (still). Answers letters to say checked issue but problems prevent bombing
- 1116 Man on tracks
- 1129 Allied bombing shots on Germany
- 1153 Leonard Cheshies (Pilot for allies) says not enough details to need clear night, could have been done though
- 1200 Man speaks
- 1227 13. September 1944: Report in hebrew. Americans bomb entrance of Auschwitz
- 1237 Charles Cower (British prisoner) who recounts the raid, says damage minimal and didn't take long to rebuild. Claims raid purely on I.G. Farben and not just extermination camp. Raid did take out plant for months but not the extermination camps. Bombing would endanger people
- 1370 American says not able to be precise. Would have to put out of order
- 1393 Jewish Agency sends letter to London to know whether American / English were flying over there
- 1395 Linton reads report
- 1415 Man who helped bring report talks about Vatican rep. who wanted to meet with prisoners
- 1467 Moldovitch first the Vatican rep. didn't believe, but when told priests there, then he believed but there was nothing he could do
- 1500 Man says Vatican rep. disappears and didn't do anything
- 1515 12. October 1944: Report from McClellar to John Pable in Washington. Report says stories about Auschwitz and Birkenau true. He spoke with the Vatican rep. about this
- 1547 8. November 1944: Report Pable to John McLewis says if camps bombed they wouldn't be rebuilt
- 1580 London
- 1595 Merach Bukie: Prisoners responsible to burn bodies
- 1620 18. November 1944: Germans end killing. Report from John McCloy to Pable claim not use forces because earliest victory most important. Best to end the war as soon as possible. Will detract important forces
- 1670 Bombed shots of Germany
- 1690 UN pilot thought Germany most important to bomb. Says very confused, but correct view to end war as soon as possible. Declines knowledge of political reason
- 1746 American clerk. McCloy wasn't to be held responsible for this decision. Says in general Americans didn't cooperate
- 1813 Eliahu Dovkin (Jewish Agency) shouldn't have sent reports all the time. Should have done secret negotiations, esp. regarding Winston Churchill. We should understand situation that Americans English were thinking about their people first
- 1902 Man says problem was there wasn't enough pressure to act
- 1919-1940 22. November 1944: Report. Epilogue written by Hudel and he tries to find solution of what to do with report of two prisoners
Acc. to and adapted from Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, Jerusalem