Holocaust

Six remarkable stories of survival from eyewitnesses of Nazi atrocities during World War 2, brought to life through animation and a series of follow-up interviews with elderly survivors who recount their childhood experiences of Nazi atrocities and the impact on their lives. In thoughtful interviews, they discuss why Holocaust education is important to keep alive the memory of those who were murdered, and in order to stay vigilant so that the world may never see these horrific events repeated.

Weaving together interviews, official photos and documents, home movies, and archival film, this 90-minute film explores the complex social and political factors that shaped America's response to the Holocaust. The story of Kurt Klein, who struggled with State Department red tape to free his parents from Eastern Europe, represents America's reaction to European Jews clamoring for rescue.

The late 20th century produced a sinister euphemism: "ethnic cleansing." This program concludes a comprehensive survey of genocide by looking at the most recent examples in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey; Burundi and Rwanda; the former Yugoslavia; Indonesia and East Timor; and Chechnya. The role and efforts of the United Nations are discussed as well as what the future holds in trying to prevent genocide. Among many scholars, experts, and survivors interviewed are Jamsheed Marker, former U.S. Ambassador and negotiator to East Timor; Gregory H. Stanton, director of Genocide Watch; and Joseph Mutaboba, Rwandan Ambassador to the UN. Viewer discretion is advised.

From prostitution to slave labor, human trafficking knows no moral or geographical boundaries. This CNBC program examines an underground global industry in which hopelessness and greed create a sinister, sometimes lethal combination. Viewers see firsthand the human impact of the commercial sex trade in Tijuana, Mexico, where girls younger than 18 are often coerced into working as prostitutes. As the program shows, the modern slave labor trade is also a real problem in the U.S., involving not only the sex industry but also agriculture, manufacturing, and hospitality. Meanwhile, cocoa production is drawing increasing fire from human rights experts, with nearly half of the world’s cocoa crops coming from Africa’s Ivory Coast—an area with a long history of child slavery.

Behind the everyday bargains we all love—the $10 manicure, the unlimited shrimp buffet—is a hidden world of forced labor to keep those prices at rock bottom. Noy Thrupkaew investigates human trafficking—which flourishes in the U.S. and Europe, as well as developing countries—and shows us the human faces behind the exploited labor that feeds global consumers.

To make this film, director Michael Ramsdell spent six years among organizations that define themselves in ideological opposition to other groups, sometimes with extreme hatred. As he spent time with white supremacists, Muslim extremists, militant fundamentalist Christians, participants on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and American combatants in Iraq, he began to unravel the mystery of the anatomy of hate. The resulting documentary mixes profoundly disturbing footage of racist and antigay tirades with interviews from sociologists and neuroscientists who explain the psychological—rather than political or religious—mechanisms that make people take violent action against other groups. Throughout the film, stories of redemption told by former hate group members prove that inner change is possible. While the film can be difficult to watch, it should prompt thoughtful discussion in sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science classes. Some content may be objectionable. Contains harsh and inflammatory language.