Ken Burns, a renowned documentary filmmaker famous for works like The Civil War, discusses his pivotal film, The U.S. and the Holocaust. He delves into America's complex and often troubling role during this atrocity, including the impact of anti-Semitism on refugee policies. Burns reflects on the lessons history teaches about civic duty and the portrayal of marginalized communities. The conversation also explores how these historical narratives resonate today and highlights the importance of empathy in storytelling.
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Anne Frank’s Father
Ken Burns opens his Holocaust film with Otto Frank’s immigration struggles.
This highlights America's culpability in not accepting refugees.
insights INSIGHT
American Awareness and Inaction
Americans knew about the Holocaust’s horrors, yet resisted aiding refugees.
Anti-Semitism, eugenics, and xenophobia fueled this resistance.
insights INSIGHT
Breckenridge Long’s Obstruction
Breckenridge Long, a State Department official, obstructed refugee entry.
His anti-Semitism reflects broader American sentiment.
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The Pity of It All explores the intricate history of Jewish life in Germany, from Moses Mendelssohn's integration into German culture to Hannah Arendt's flight from Nazi Germany. It delves into the struggles and achievements of prominent German Jews, including their quest for equal citizenship and their contributions to art and science.
The diary of a young girl
Anne Frank
The Diary of a Young Girl is the personal diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who chronicled her family's two years in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The diary begins on Anne's 13th birthday in 1942 and ends shortly before her capture by the Gestapo in 1944. It details her daily life in the 'Secret Annex' above her father's office, where she lived with her family and another family, the van Daans, and a dentist, Mr. Dussel. The diary includes her thoughts on her relationships with the people in the annex, her feelings of isolation and loneliness, and her reflections on the war and her own identity. It is a powerful and poignant account of a young girl's experience during one of the most horrific periods in history[1][3][5].
The Overstory
Richard Powers
The Overstory is a sweeping and impassioned work of environmental fiction that follows the lives of nine individuals whose paths are intertwined by their connections to trees. The novel is structured in four parts – 'Roots', 'Trunk', 'Crown', and 'Seeds' – mirroring the parts of a tree. It delves into themes of ecology, climate change, and the interconnectedness of trees and humans, using a blend of science, history, and magical realism. The book advocates for the protection of trees and the natural world, posing critical questions about humanity's relationship with the environment and the long-term consequences of human actions[2][4][5].
Ken Burns is the most famous documentary filmmaker in America. He has made 35 films over the past 5 decades on historical and cultural subjects like the Civil War (which is the most streamed film in public television history), baseball, jazz, the Roosevelts, Jefferson, Vietnam, Benjamin Franklin, the Statue of Liberty, Muhammad Ali... and many, many more. But of his most recent film, The U.S. and The Holocaust, he said: "I will never work on a film more important than this one."
Even if you've seen many movies or read many books on the Holocaust, Burns' new film, which focuses on the U.S.'s response to the worst genocide in human history—what America did and didn't do, could have done and didn't, and the way the Nazis derived inspiration from ideas popular in America at the time—is bound to both horrify and surprise.
So today, on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I talk to Burns about why a filmmaker of American history takes on the Holocaust and what this dark period of history tells us about the chasm between America's ideals and our actual reality. And later, we get into an intense and rich discussion about the responsibilities of telling American history, the uses and misuses of the Holocaust as a political metaphor, and what pitfalls we face when drawing parallels between history and now.
Honestly with Bari Weiss 
