Horror of the death camps dominated

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33693, 16 November 1974, Page 5

Horror of the death camps dominated

For all “Nationwide’s” revelations about the much-discussed sale of gifts made to the late Prime Minister, “The World at War” dominated Thursday evening’s viewing. There it was, all laid out and well and truly documented—the appalling story of the systematic and deliberate mutder of six million men, women, and children, whose only crime was that they were Jewish.

' Even after almost 30 years , and thousands of words, ) books, films, and plays about this outrage to humanity, it ! was difficult to accept that i it happened in the twentieth . century. “Genocide,” the title of the ’ episode in the World War II documentary series, was screened later than usual. It ■ was, perhaps, too horrific for younger children, but for , two secondary-school pupils . in our house who have been , studying the Third Reich at school, it made compelling ’ and instructive viewing, to I ' say the least. The programme began | with the pre-war cult of | racial purity and Himmler’s! dream to build a new awareness of German race. This was particularly well: handled, and put into perspective the awful and crush- i ing logic of the subsequent! extermination campaign of ) millions of Jews from all! over Europe. The episode was strong on film of the period, and even included some propaganda films shown to the German i people. It also brought out the indoctrination of German youth and the building of the elite S.S., termed the "sons of light” with the structure! based on the Jesuit order. The film and facts of at first the hangings and shootings, and later the detailed planning and construction for the gassings in the death camps, told their own terrible story. Those who survived recalled events as they remembered them, and the film was used to illustrate what happened. There were fleeting shots of frightened women peering from cattle trucks, children being rounded up in Warsaw, pathetic lines of people waiting their turn to be sorted out for death, and bulldozers burying the dead. This was the kind of pro- ! , gramme which, in a series ; on World War 11, certainly deserved thorough treatment. It was far from pleasant viewing, but it helps the ' world remember what can happen when racial discrimination is carried to its conclusion.

“Nationwide” certainly dealt thoroughly with the matter of the gifts. Interviewing Mrs Kirk was a dicey business, particularly

Story. 9.43: Original and Arranged. 10.17: Milhaud. 10.29: Beethoven. 3ZB, CHRISTCHURCH (1100 kilohertz) 7,2: Sunday at Seven. 7.30: Many a Slip. 8.2: Up Country. 8.30: Brothers in Law. 9.5: Late Night Listening. 3ZM, CHRISTCHURCH (1400 kilohertz) 2 p.m.: Christchurch Top 20 Show. • RADIO AVON (1290 kilohertz)

News on the hour. 5.30 a.m.: Paul Muggleston. 9.0: Murray Inglis with Dedications. 2 p.m.: Mike Richardson. 4.0: American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. 7.0: Paul Muggleston. 10.0: Talkback with the Rev. Peter Davis.

; in view of her feelings about I her privacy. Still, there had been public discussion with some criticism, and she had decided to sell the items at a public j auction. Keith Aberdein, the' interviewer, was generally! restrained enough to allow Mrs Kirk to have her say,i and at least the programme gave viewers an insight into) her attitude towards the sale.

David Beatson hammered away at Dr Finlay on promlised legislation safeguarding privacy. The Minister managed to keep his cool and; ! patiently explained, sometimes not too convincingly, I j the reasons for the delay. Mr Beatson put the question in many different ways' but Dr Finlay merely batted) ) the ball back, even scoring a j j run or two here and there. I i Perhaps this section of I ; “Nationwide” would have ibeen more fruitful if some investigation had been made into just how the central computer system will work, and what needs to be guarded against. “All in the Family” turned up trumps on Thursday evening with Mike as the odd man out. Archie is usually! the great exponent of intoi-) erance, but son-in-law took the prize this time, with: some entertaining exchanges. —K.C. I