Waubonsee Community College

Messengers without an audience, produced by AVA Productions

eng

videorecording

For College; Adult audiences

Messengers without an audience

electronic resource

747797964

produced by AVA Productions

52

Messengers Without An Audience is a gripping documentary about the heroism of a handful of eyewitnesses who brought the first devastating reports about the Nazi atrocities to the West. Why did such a large proportion of the world ignore the genocide of millions of civilians in Europe? Did people not believe what was happening in Europe or was their indifference plain anti-Semitism? These questions are addressed in the documentary through interviews with four men who tried to warn the world: Jan Karski, Gerhart Riegner, Jan Nowak and Wladislav Bartoszewski. The documentary examines the reasons for ignoring the Nazi s murderous actions. Anti-Semitism was common at the time not only in Europe but among high officials of the American State Department. Was it shared by President Roosevelt? We do know that the State Department suppressed information, delayed action and directed consulates in the field to refuse refugees life-saving visas.Also interviewed are William Slany, the former Chief Historian of the State Department and Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. Under Secretary of State. Slany's is the first testimony by a former top official of the Department. He speaks candidly about the catastrophic mistakes and the significant anti-Semitic attitude of that era. Stuart Eizenstat who published the Nazi-Gold Reports, discusses American responsibility for this tragic history

general