The Lucky Ones: Allied Airmen and Buchenwald

199449 min 42 secFilm: Documentary

Direction: Michael Allder

Production: Michael AllderDennis MurphyCharlie MadayElyse MirandaHillary Armstrong

Produced by the NFB in association with the Arts and Entertainment Network and the CBC.

It was said that the only way out of Buchenwald was through the chimneys of the crematorium, but 168 allied airmen were the lucky ones. These young men--mostly from Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand--watched crime after crime against humanity every day for several months, until their ultimate transfer to a POW camp. What they saw at Buchenwald was so unimaginable that, after the war, few would believe them. For fifty years, these unlikely witnesses to one of history's worst atrocities kept silent. Now they share their personal stories of life before, during and after Buchenwald. The veterans' moving testimony, interwoven with rare archival footage and photographs, provide a unique chapter in World War II and Holocaust history.

Subject categories


  • War, Conflict and Peace > Memoirs and MemorialsWorld War II

Credits


director
Michael Allder
producer
Michael Allder
executive producer
Dennis Murphy
Charlie Maday
Elyse Miranda
Hillary Armstrong
cinematography
Zoe Dirse
John Bowring
Richard Williams
sound
Hans Oomes
John Martin
Bruce Wills
Roger Van Wensveen
Barbara Free
editing
Michael Fuller
sound editing
Alison Clark
re-recording
Andy Koyama
music
Mark Korven