Chełmno. Reeds rustle today on the banks of the river Ner as the trees lining it in
the film were felled. The camera recorded Srebrnik from the south bank of the Ner
and from the boat.
Chełmno/the Rzuchowski Forest. Granite curbs trace the outlines of the mass
graves. In Shoah, diminutive Srebrnik – shot from an elevated position with a
wide-angle lens – walks away from the camera.
Treblinka. The beam of golden light marks the spot where Lanzmann interviewed
Borowy.
Treblinka (Stacja Muzeum in Warsaw). Jimmy Glasberg – a camera operator –
leans out of the door of Ty2 locomotive to capture from up close a gesture shown
by Gawkowski, a warning to Jews about their imminent deaths.
Sobibór. “It wasn’t always this calm here.” Lanzmann, Janicka and Jan Piwoński
enter a clearing next to the former location of the gas chambers.
Sobibór. Lanzmann: “when it comes to the station, tracks and platforms nothing
has changed since 1942.” The station building is shown in Shoah from a few
vantage points.
Brzezinka. In the 1970s, the view from the old ramp on the Gate of Death was
unobstructed. Today, one can walk along the tracks leading to the Crematoria II and III.
Birkenau. The road to Crematoria IV and V and a forest where Hungarian Jews
would wait for their deaths in the gas chambers in the summer of 1944.
Warsaw. After the war the numbering was reversed at Miła Street, thus, the crew
filmed at the wrong end of the street. In 1946, a small mound was erected over the
ruins but a proper monument was placed there as late as 2006.
Warsaw. In the 1970s, the Forum Hotel was one of a few high buildings in the
center of Warsaw. The intersection of the Jerozolimskie Avenue and Krucza Street
in front of the Smyk department store. In this photo, there are two perspectives of
filming: from the roof of the hotel and from a sidewalk across from the tram stop.
