Nazi Collaborators Documentary (2012)

Studio: Shanachie Entertainment Corp.
DVD Release: October 16, 2012
Not Rated
Review by Doug Loge

Documentary Box Cover Summary:
This new 13-part documentary explores the question, “How could anyone have collaborated with Adolph Hitler and the Nazis?” Drawing upon an unrivaled 4000 hours of archival film, it shows how powerful individuals and organizations all across Europe and the Middle East collaborated, often with dark and disturbing motives, with the most evil regime of the 20th century. Many did it for financial gain, others for the promise of elevated status. Some believed that siding with the imperialist Germans offered the best chance of survival for their people, while others would later claim they would be killed if they refused. From the Jewish leader who offered up his people as free labor, to the ex-French Prime Minister who actively aided the Nazi hunt for the Resistance. And from the IRA-German plot to invade Northern Ireland to the brutal killing squads of Lithuania, this ground-breaking series explores the complex motivations behind the controversial paths these collaborators chose. These are the stories that many countries prefer to forget or cover up.

Most of the public thinks that the Germans conquered Europe all by themselves. That was clearly not the case. Although they bore the brunt of the initial fighting, they certainly received help in both their invasions, and in controlling their conquered territories. They were even able to make friends with countries who happened to share a common enemy, the Allies.

This DVD set is a good survey of the strange relationships between the collaborators in those countries, and the Nazi’s. Though most of the time the collaborators didn’t share the same political beliefs as the Nazi’s, they used the Nazis, and/or were used by the Nazis.

The archival footage in the DVD set itself was very good. Although there was a fair amount of footage that is included in most WWII documentaries, as well would be new even to the avid WWII documentary viewer. Included in the individual programs were interview breaks by historians, reenactments, present day footage, as well as people who lived through that turbulent time. These parts added a nice break from the standard black and white WWII documentary.

My only criticism of the set was some of its content. The set could have better, by exploring how the collaboration affected the majority of citizens of the country being occupied itself. What did the population think of the collaboration? How did affect them in their daily life? Instead, the DVD set traveled down the road that led to the Holocaust. Although it’s a topic that certainly warrants exploration, it would have better served in a set specifically on that subject.

Some of these collaborators are in fact pretty tragic figures. Did they sell their country out or did they save it by collaboration with the Nazi’s? That is the question most posed by this DVD set. It is up to the viewer to decide.