Der gelbe Stern - Ein Film über die Judenverfolgung 1933-1945

Dieter Hildebrandt's documentary is an interesting and overviewed source with plenty of unseen footage, sound clips and propaganda from WWII and before that, which makes this a must-see film for those who want to learn more about the persecution suffered by the Jews between the decades of 1930 and 1940. More experienced viewers, myself included, won't find this much different from what's presented in several existing documentaries except one thing or another, so it can be a very repetitive experience but worth watching nonetheless.

It's all very briefly presented in nine or ten chapters, that goes from Hitler's rise to power (1933), the first laws preventing Jews of doing many things; the magnificent and huge campaign built by the government with the 1936's Olympics and also deceiving the German population into thinking the Jews are part of the nation's problems; 1938's Night of the Broken Glass with attacks to synagogues, stores, many people died or were injured; later on it culminates with war, final solution in the concentration camps and gas chambers.

Parallel to that, we are presented some of the Nazi propaganda of the period, one of them is a film (never showed to the public even back then) that paints a friendly picture about "the reality" of the Jews in the labor camps, with the victims happily acting before cameras as if they were working in an ordinary factory. Truly appalling.

Technically speaking the movie is very well put together, consisting mostly of archive footage, narrated by a tiring voice and dubbed in some parts during German speeches (captions would be better) or when presenting reflections of people who escaped the persecution. 99% archive, except for one introduction by Simon Wiesenthal, one of the film's producers.

Good film, highly informative and historical. 8/10