Black and white footage and photographs from inside the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz will be shown in colour on television for the first time, in a two-part documentary to be broadcast in the UK later this month. Auschwitz Untold in Colour will also feature testimonials from those who escaped the mass execution camps – including a rare testimonial from a French Romany survivor.
Director David Shulman told the Guardian it was a “privilege” to direct the series. Its broadcast on More4 will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, marking “the last major Holocaust anniversary where survivors may be alive to tell their stories”. The Bafta winner aimed to explore rarely examined themes, namely the impact on the Roma people, the role of the Jewish resistance both within and outside of the ghettos, and the destruction of Jewish culture. He also stressed the importance of focusing the story on the people who were there, to see events “through the eyes of very young people who have gained deeper political insight [through their lives]”.
As well as footage, the programme features pictures from the Auschwitz Album, the only known photos to have been taken inside the camp and thought to originate from SS guards. In an incredible coincidence, one participant was able to identify people in the photos whom they personally recognised.
Colourisation has previously been used in projects including Peter Jackson’s 2018 documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, which explored the experiences of soldiers in the first world war. It is hoped that it will make the Holocaust more relevant to viewers. In a statement from Fulwell73, the production company behind sports documentaries Sunderland ’Til I Die and The Class of ’92, development producer Sheldon Lazarus said the documentary aimed to “remove a barrier that separates contemporary audiences … so that we never ever forget the atrocities of the past”. Similarly, Shulman commented that it was “extremely surprising to see the dimension of humanity that was added”, from the “grisly, horrible” scenes within the camps to images of liberation. “It all gives the film more contemporary resonance. It is not just about history but about today.”
