The U.S. and the Holocaust, an AVDF-funded documentary, is among the list of the 2023 winners for the 75th Emmy Awards.
The U.S. and the Holocaust was awarded the 2023 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program. The film was also nominated in two other categories: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program.
The three-part series, produced by Florentine Films and presented by WETA, tells the story of how Americans grappled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 20th century. The film was produced in conjunction with a groundbreaking exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The U.S. and the Holocaust premiered on PBS on September 18, 2022, and is still available to stream on PBS. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein directed the historically significant film which asked three essential questions about the Holocaust in relation to the US: What did Americans know? When did we know it? What did we do about it?
The film also explores complex challenges that arise from isolationism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism, preventing the U.S. from rising to its stated ideals and rescuing the Jewish people at their time of greatest need. By examining the events of this period and the difficult choices they presented, The U.S. and the Holocaust raises questions that are as relevant today as they were in the 1930s and 1940s. These questions include: What is America’s role as a land of immigrants? What are the responsibilities of a nation to intervene in humanitarian crises? What should our leaders and the press do to shape public opinion? And what can individuals do when governments fail to act?
The 2023 Emmy Awards ceremony is set to take place on January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. The event is scheduled to air on Fox at 8 p.m. EST. For more about the 75th Emmy Awards, click here.