Historian Simon Schama makes a deeply personal and profoundly moving journey to Auschwitz in this new documentary for BBC Two. Visiting the infamous concentration camp for the first time, Schama confronts the horrific reality of the Holocaust, exploring not only the Nazi atrocities but also the broader European context of complicity that enabled such horrors to occur.
“The Road to Auschwitz” is not just a recounting of events within the camp’s walls; it’s a wider exploration of how deep-seated prejudices were weaponized across Europe, turning ordinary people against their Jewish neighbors. Schama’s journey takes him through the Lithuanian lands of his ancestors, where bullets played a devastating role in the genocide, and to the Netherlands, where bureaucratic processes facilitated the deportation of Jews to the death camps.
Through archival footage, historical analysis, and a moving interview with a survivor, Schama examines the incremental steps that led to the catastrophe, demonstrating how “evil comes step by step.” “Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz” airs Monday, April 7th at 9:00 PM on BBC Two. It is a powerful and timely film that forces us to confront the darkest chapter of European history and its chilling relevance to the present day.
