The most important films about the Holocaust
The top 3 according to 9 votes from people: Shoah (1985) · The Last Stage (1948) · The Zone of Interest (2023). (Updated Dec 14, 2025.)
Features and documentaries to watch so as to remember. Based on the lists of Viva.pl, Emcek and Episodes from Auschwitz.
Automatically translated (original in Polski). See the original
Top 10
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1
Shoah (1985)
Claude Lanzmann's nine-hour documentary of testimonies.
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2
The Last Stage (1948)
Wanda Jakubowska, a former prisoner, filming at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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3
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Daily life of commandant Höss's family behind the camp wall.
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4
Ida (2013)
A young nun discovers her Jewish roots; an Oscar for Paweł Pawlikowski.
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5
In Darkness (2011)
Hidden in the sewers of Lviv, by Agnieszka Holland.
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6
Korczak (1990)
Janusz Korczak and the orphanage children, by Andrzej Wajda.
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7
Passenger (1963)
Andrzej Munk's unfinished film about an Auschwitz guard.
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8
Sophie's Choice (1982)
Meryl Streep as an Auschwitz survivor.
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9
Schindler's List (1993)
Oskar Schindler, who saved over a thousand Jews; seven Oscars.
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10
The Pianist (2002)
Władysław Szpilman in the Warsaw Ghetto, by Roman Polański.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 10… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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11
Son of Saul (2015)
A Sonderkommando member in Auschwitz; Oscar for best foreign-language film.
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12
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
A father who turns the camp into a game to protect his son.
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13
Night and Fog (1956)
Alain Resnais's short documentary on the camps.
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14
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
A commandant's son befriends a boy behind the wire.
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15
The Counterfeiters (2007)
Prisoners forced to forge pounds; an Oscar for Austria.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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