Shoah Movie Summary

The movie begins with Simon Srebnik going back to Chelmno, he is one of the two survivors. He was taken to Chelmno when he was thirteen, his father was killed in front of him, and his mother died in the gas vans. He was known throughout the camp for his agility and his beautiful singing voice. Before abandoning the camp the Nazis shot everyone, including him, in the head. He was left for dead, but was found and survived. Simon went back to tell of the experience he had. He cannot believe what happened as he walks along what is left of the frame of the buildings. He said that 2,000 were burnt per day, but he remembers the camp as being peaceful. No one ever shouted, they just went about their work. He was forced to go up the river, under guard, to get food for the rabbits from the alfalfa fields. Along the way he would sing and the people along the shore would listen and some still remember.

The other survivor of Chelmno is Michael Podchlebnik. The day he went to the camp everything died in him, he is human though and wanted to live. He wants to forget about the Holocaust and doesn't like to talk about it. In the beginning he thought himself as dead because he never thought he'd survive. His job was to unload corpses, on his first day he cried. On his third day he saw his wife and children. He put his wife in the grave and asked to be killed. The Germans said he was strong enough to work and that he wouldn't be killed yet.

Motke Zaidl was a survivor of Sobibor. They visited the Forest of the Sobibor death camp in Poland and when asked about the hunting in the forested, he replied that the only hunting was man hunting. Victims tried to escape, but didn't know the area and he remembers hearing explosions in the minefield. He describes the charm of the forest as beauty and silence. He says it wasn't always silent, it was full of screams and of dogs barking. After the revolt the Germans decided to liquidate the camp. In early 1943 they planted trees that were three or four years old to camouflage all traces. The screen of trees covered where the mass graves were. He said the trees hid the secret of a death camp.

Itzhak Dugin was a survivor from Vilna. He remembers a cold winter day in January 1942. One of his jobs was to bury bodies that were buried in rows covered in dirt. The ditches were funnel shaped and he had to lay them out like herrings, head to foot. He also had to dig up and burn the Jews of Vilna.