Best Holocaust Movies Of All Time: 19+ Films Covering The Horrors Of Humanity

Best Holocaust Movies (Top Picks At A Glance)

When it comes to movies about the Holocaust, there are a number of great titles that come to mind. “Schindler’s List,” “The Pianist” and “Life Is Beautiful” are all excellent films that tell heartbreaking stories of the Nazi genocide against the Jews. But these are just a few examples; there are many other great Holocaust movies to choose from.

Whether you’re looking for a documentary or a dramatization, there’s something out there for everyone. So if you’re interested in learning more about this dark period in history, and watching the best Holocaust movies there are, be sure to check out some of these great films we’ve put together in this list.

The Pianist Movie Description

Adrien Brody stars as Wladyslaw Szpilman in this adaptation of the autobiography “The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival.” Warsaw is changing gradually as World War II begins, and Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto.

However, he becomes separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From then until concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilan must hide in various locations among destroyed buildings within Warsaw.

Schindler’s List Movie Description

Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make money from the just-starting World War II.

For political reasons, he joins the Nazi party and fills his factory with Jewish workers. He soon realizes that by protecting his workers from extermination by the SS, he is also saving lives.

Life Is Beautiful Movie Description

The story of Guido Orefice, a waiter who falls in love with schoolteacher Dora and marries her. They have a son together, but their happiness is cut short when they are taken to a concentration camp during World War II.

To protect his son from the reality of their situation, Guido tells Giosue that their time in the camp is just a game.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Movie Description

Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is a young boy who lives in Berlin during World War II. His father has just become commandant of a concentration camp, and the family moves to be closer to the camp.

Bruno is unhappy and lonely, but he makes a friend in Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence around the camp. The boys are not aware of the danger they are in, and they share secrets and play together despite the fact that they are separated by barbed wire.

The Devil’s Arithmetic Movie Description

When Hannah Stern (Kirsten Dunst), an American-born Jew, has a supernatural experience that takes her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941, she meets Rivkah (Brittany Murphy), another prisoner there. As the two girls struggle to survive the daily atrocities of life in the camp, they form an unbreakable bond.

The Grand Budapest Hotel Movie Description

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort. At the hotel, concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) provided first-class service to the guests, including satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there.

However, when one of Gustave’s lovers died mysteriously, Gustave found himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder.

The Grey Zone Movie Description

The Grey Zone tells the story of Auschwitz’s twelfth Sonderkommando, a squad of Jewish prisoners put in a difficult moral dilemma: help exterminate fellow Jews in exchange for a few more months of life. It makes you ask yourself what terrible lengths you are willing to go to save your own life.

Shoah Movie Description

The film follows Holocaust survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators over a span of 11 years as they recount their experiences of the Holocaust. Director Claude Lanzmann refuses to use any archival footage, instead conducting interviews to create a more personal account of the events.

The film is divided into three sections, each exploring a different aspect of the Holocaust. These sections are the Chelmno concentration camp, Auschwitz, and Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Judgment At Nuremberg Movie Description

Four German judges who were in power during the Nazi regime are put on trial for committing crimes against humanity in 1947. Chief Justice Haywood (Spencer Tracy) hears not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), but also testimony from the widow of a Nazi general (Marlene Dietrich), an idealistic U.S. Army captain (William Shatner), and reluctant witness Irene Wallner (Judy Garland).

The Pawnbroker Movie Description

Former professor Sol Nazerman (Rod Steiger), the survivor of a German concentration camp, now runs a pawn shop in East Harlem. Nazerman harbors a deep resentment toward humanity, and he pushes away anyone who tries to get close to him.

This includes his young Puerto Rican employee, Jesus (Jaime Sanchez). As Nazerman struggles with his inner demons, the harsh realities of city life begin to take a toll on him as well.

Europa Europa Movie Description

Salek (Marco Hofschneider) is separated from his family when they flee their home in Germany during Kristallnacht. He spends two years in a Russian orphanage but, when Nazi troops get to Russia, he tricks them into thinking he is German.

He becomes an excellent interpreter and then an unknowing war hero. It becomes harder for him to keep up the lie as time goes on; especially after joining the Hitler Youth and finding love with Leni (Julie Delpy), who hates Jews.

The Book Thief Movie Description

Liesel, a young orphan arrives at the house of her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa. When Hans, a kind housepainter discovers that Liesel can’t read, he starts to teach her the beauty of literature. She falls in love with books and even saves one from a Nazi fire camp.

Although they barely have enough money to get by, things become even more complicated when they start hiding a Jewish boy whose father saved Hans’ life once before.

Inglorious Basterds Movie Description

Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) assembles a team of Jewish soldiers to take down the leaders of the Third Reich.

As their paths cross, Shosanna Dreyfus, a theatre owner, looks to get revenge on the Nazis for killing her family.

Defiance Movie Description

Three brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), and Asael (Jamie Bell), escape to the forest to avoid Nazi soldiers that are slaughtering Eastern European Jews by the thousands.

The brothers turn their daily struggle for survival into a battle against the Nazis, seeking revenge for the deaths of their loved ones. As news of their daring exploits spreads, more and more people are drawn to the cause, risking their lives for a taste of freedom.

The Champion Of Auschwitz Movie Description

Tadeusz Teddy Pietrzykowski, a pre-war boxing champion, arrives at Auschwitz concentration camp in 1940 as part of the first transport of prisoners.

• Best Boxing Movies Of All Time

The Zookeeper’s Wife Movie Description

It is the year 1939 in Poland, and Antonina Zabinski and her husband Dr. Jan Zabinksi live there, where Jan manages the Warsaw Zoo under Antonina’s care.

However, when their country gets invaded by Nazis, they are forced to report to Lutz Heck, the Reich’s new zoologist appointed by the invaders. The couple begins working with the Polish Resistance secretly to save hundreds of lives from what has become the Warsaw Ghetto.

Denial Movie Description

‘Denying the Holocaust’ caused an uproar when it was published in 1993 by Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books. English author David Irving sued her for libel two years later, claiming that her book had destroyed his good reputation as a historian by accusing him of manipulating historical facts.

The court case that followed put the responsibility on Lipstadt’s legal team to show that the Holocaust actually occurred.

The Reader Movie Description

Michael Berg meets Hanna Schmitz, a bus conductor several years his senior. The two have a passionate relationship until Hanna abruptly moves away without telling him. Michael is heartbroken.

Years later, while studying law at Heidelberg University, he discovers that Hanna is on trial for a brutal Nazi war crime.

Sophie’s Choice Movie Description

In 1947, Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer, moves to Brooklyn to start writing his first novel. He befriends Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her lover Nathan (Kevin Kline) and discovers that Sophie is a Holocaust survivor.

The story goes back in time to reveal her terrifying journey from being prosperous before the war to Auschwitz. In the present day, as Stingo gets closer to Sophie, Nathan’s mental state deteriorates and their relationship begins to fall apart.

Son Of Saul Movie Description

A Jewish man during World War II tries to find a Rabbi to help him bury a child at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

5 More Holocaust Movies (Honorable Mentions)

While our top picks in the holocaust movie genre offer powerful and poignant depictions of one of the darkest moments in human history, several other films deserve recognition for their impact and impactful storytelling.

From dramatized accounts to documentaries, these honorable mentions offer unique perspectives and shed light on different aspects of the Holocaust. Whether you’re looking for a new film to watch or want to explore the genre further, these films are definitely worth checking out if you have watched through all our top picks.

• The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
• Plan A (2021)
• The Auschwitz Report (2020)
• Enemies, A Love Story (1989)
• Au revoir les enfants (1987)