The horrors of Auschwitz in colour: New documentary is set to stun audiences with transformed black and white footage of the Nazi death camp on 75th anniversary of its liberation
- Auschwitz Untold: In Colour is a two part series from the perspective of survivors
- Viewers will be able to see the colourisation of black and white camp footage
- Aired on Holocaust Memorial Day – which is dedicated to those who suffered
A new powerful documentary series is set to stun viewers as it marks the 75-year anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Auschwitz Untold: In Colour is a two part series which is shot from the perspective of Holocaust survivors, with the archive footage used from the concentration camp in Poland having been restored to full colour.
It is set to feature testimonies from survivors which have never been shared before and is narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley.
One female survivor recounts arriving at the camp saying: ‘Once we entered there, we thought we’d entered hell.’
Images from the new documentary show what the prisoners actually looked like when they arrived
The image above shows the prisoners in blue and white striped pyjamas while others are in the clothes they came in
isitors at the former Auschwitz concentration camp operated by Nazi Germany during WWII
Another said it took them ’60 years to be able to talk about what happened there’.
A male survivor also talks about how he was 11-years-old when he went to the camp and that he ‘didn’t know what he was getting in for’.
Others said they did ‘everything in their power to stay alive’.
Speaking about the fact the new documentary being restored, one survivor said: ‘We were wearing colours, we were not all in grey’.
Another added: ‘Colourisation couldn’t get the image closer to what it actually was’.
Other images sowed women wearing hats and carrying their coats as they walked through the camp
Women and children are seen walking through the camp in the footage which has been restored
15 Holocaust survivors appear on the film, with one being that of a Romani Holocaust survivor and a member of the Jewish underground who took part in armed resistance against the Nazis as her entire family was being murdered in a death camp.
Now in their 80s and 90s, they are able to provide first-hand accounts of the camp and the Final Solution.
The series dives deep into the history of the camp, revealing Nazi plans for genocide against Jewish and Romani people.
For the first time viewers will be able to see the colourisation of black and white archive footage.
Survivors took part in the documentary in order to tell their stories about their time in the camp
The series is being produced and directed by BAFTA winner David Shulman, development producer Sheldon Lazarus, and executive produced by Leo Pearlman and BAFTA winner Neil Grant.
The two episodes will be broadcast on More4 in the UK followed by a 90-minute special airing on Channel 4 as part of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
David Shulman, Producer/Director of Auschwitz Untold: In Colour said: ‘My ambition in making Auschwitz Untold was to have as much contemporary resonance as possible. The colourisation of black and white archive is one aspect of making this history more accessible to a younger audience and giving greater humanity to the people seen in the footage.
Powerful images from inside the bunks of the cap show how cramped condition were. The images above are what the footage looked like before being restored
Prisoners are pictured near the barbed wire on the edges of the camp. This is a grab from the footage before it was restored
‘Also, by including a Jewish resistance fighter from Vilna and a Roma holocaust survivor from France I think AuschwitzUntold In Colour adds unique perspectives typically overlooked by most documentaries about the Holocaust.’
Holocaust Memorial Day is a national commemoration day in the United Kingdom dedicated to the remembrance of those who suffered in The Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution.
It also marks subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
The commemorations were first held on January 2001 and have been on the same day ever since.
It marks the day that Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Union in 1945.
Auschwitz Untold: In Colour airs Sunday 26th and Monday 27th January at 9pm on More4 followed by a 90-minute special Wednesday 29th January at 10:30pm on Channel 4.