— The impact of the American television series “Holocaust” on West German viewers was powerful but not lasting, according to the results of public opinion polls taken shortly before the January, 1979 screening, directly afterwards and one year later.
In November, 1978, two months before the NBC television production was broadcast in West Germany, 53 percent of the population favored ending the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and 31 percent wanted it to continue. In February, 1979, one month after the screening, which had been watched by 63 percent of the national television audience, the polls indicated that 51 percent of the viewers wanted prosecutions continued against 45 percent who wanted them ended.
But one year later, the numbers opposed to prosecution rose to 57 percent while those in favor fell to 34 percent. The polls did not indicate any reasons for the quick evaporation of support for Nazi war crimes trials.
A group of scholars at the University of Berlin’s Media Research Institute is preparing a three-part documentary Film on reactions in West Germany to the “Holocaust” series. It will concentrate on the influence the series had on German youth. According to Siegried Zielinski who is in charge of the project, production of the documentary resulted in intense, open discussions among the young participants.
During the organized debates before the cameras they spoke of their own ignorance of the Nazi era and the indifference of their older relatives, teachers and others. The youths concluded that at least two post-war generations of Germans lack knowledge of the Nazi period and that this could have serious consequences.
A remedial step has been taken by the Teachers Union in conjunction with the Central Council of Jews in Germany to produce “National Socialism as a School Subject,” a book described by the authors as “an aid in planning instruction” on the Nazi era/ The book traces the roots of anti-Semitism in German society to correct the view held by many of the younger generation that it was a one-time phenomenon involving only “Hitler himself and perhaps a few of his stooges,” according to Ado Brandes, writing in the Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntogsblatt. “The authors consider it wrong to view the persecution of Jews isolated from the racist ideas of Nazi ideology,” Brandes added.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
