Watch all three parts of the documentary “Verdict on Auschwitz.”
3 parts (each one hour): https://csicuny.kanopy.com/video/verdict-auschwitz
Make sure you watch the 3-part version, not the 1-part, abridged version.
I highly recommend that you download the questions list (separate file) and use it to take notes. You are not required to turn that in.
Essay topic: Explain three purposes of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial, and analyze whether they were successful.
Required sources
Verdict on Auschwitz: The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, directed by Dietrich Wagner and Rolf Bickel, 1999.
Reader: Fulbrook, Mary. “War, Extermination, and Defeat,” in History of Germany, 1918-2008 (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), 82-109.
Reader: Report by Alfred Wetzler and Rudolf Vrba, Two Escapees from Auschwitz (late April 1944)
Reader: Heinrich Böll on the psychological impact of the Economic Miracle (excerpt from “In this Country”)
Use of outside sources (including film reviews and websites) will result in a failing grade.
Outline
Paragraph 1: Introduction and thesis statement, answering the question: What were the main purposes of the Frankfurt trial, and were they successful?
Be concise. You don’t have to explain all the reasons here.
Paragraph 2: Contrast what was known about Auschwitz during the war, based on the Wetzler/Vrba report (in the reader), versus information learned later and presented at the trial. Explain the main differences. Consider the purposes of the report vs. the purposes of the trial in West Germany. You must have footnotes to the report and film in this paragraph.
Paragraph 3: Purpose #1 of the trial/ explain and assess it (was it successful or not; why)
Provide evidence from the film: statements from witnesses or perpetrators; evidence shown to the judges; background material presented by the filmmakers. This requires footnotes.
Paragraph 4: Purpose #2 of the trial/ explain and assess it (was it successful or not; why)
Evidence (same as above)
Paragraph 5: Purpose #3 of the trial/ explain and assess it (was it successful or not; why)
Evidence (same as above)
Paragraph 6: Conclusion.
Re-state the purposes and evaluate this trial overall. What are your personal thoughts about the trial and what it represents?