March 5, 1999 -- In 1944, even when they were clearly losing the war to the Allies, the Germans continued to furiously wage their war against the Jews. In an effort to accomplish their "final solution" Hitler's Nazi forces invaded Hungary on March 19, 1944. They began a calculated effort of deporting to Poland hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews. "The Last Days," a 1999 Oscar nominee for Feature Documentary, tells the very personal stories of five Hungarian Jews who survived this sickening agenda of the Germans. The 87-minute film is the first feature of Executive Producer Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation, and is directed by James Moll.

The five profiled survivors, who all became American citizens, are Irene Zisblatt, Renee Firestone, Alice Lok Cahana, Bill Basch, and Tom Lantos. Lantos became the only holocaust survivor to be elected to Congress as an U.S. Representative from California. With remarkable details the five recall their horrible ordeal, from the early days of World War II to the invasion of Hungary and to their eventual deportation to the notorious camps at Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, and Auschwitz. Forced to wear the "yellow star badges," enduring the sudden unfriendly confrontations by non-Jewish hometown friends, and deciding "what to take with you" when being loaded on railroad "cattle cars rather than passenger cars" were a few of the several anguished recollections.

Moll's focus on five real faces rather than dealing with the masses is the key to humanizing the Holocaust. We understand their matter-of-fact memories, the quiet sobbing as they recall turning points. Watching the murderous bashing of two young children, Irene states, "That's when I stopped talking to God." "They want my soul. They're not going to take that from me. I'm not going to become ashes." You feel their fear, their helplessness, and the endless question, why are you doing this to us?

Director Moll's cinematography for the interview settings of the five storytellers is technically stunning. The brilliant colors and room fixtures within these modern-day scenes are astonishing clashes with the equally well-preserved and stark black and white archival footage. Much of the old footage is newly discovered, footage that was shot by the Germans.

The film's story organization is chronological, alternating between the modern-day comments and the archival footage, along with a few personal family snapshots. After a few scenes of liberation by U.S. forces, the film comes full circle, literally. More than 50-years later the five survivors are shown individually visiting various places of their suffering and torment, within and outside the death camps. Children or grandchildren accompany four of the five. It is not just a lesson for their children. They are attempting some form of closure here, dealing with guilt, fear, anger, peace.

There are two elements that weakened this documentary. First, the introduction and use of a present day interview of a Nazi Doctor, who was at Auschwitz, seem obtuse. In a self-serving manner, the "Doctor" describes how he was acquitted of war crimes because he helped save Jewish lives by continuing "harmless tests" on them so "they wouldn't be gassed." Later, he is seen with Renee, confirming vaguely that he experimented on her sister. Although this personalizes one family tragedy, it made little sense to have one such Nazi Doctor in this film. It became a distraction to the film's developing themes of personal survival.

Another distraction was the introduction of an U.S. soldier, who confesses to a cold blood killing at the newly liberated Dachau camp. He simply shoots a German colonel for spitting in his face. Against the backdrop of the Holocaust, the shooting is an uncomfortable parallel to the decisions made in Nazi camps. Another scene remarks how U.S. soldiers allowed Jews to "tear to pieces" another German guard. These short scenes and the Nazi Doctor made their irrational points, but became isolated thoughts within the larger context of the five major personal stories.

Films about the Holocaust have one central purpose, to remind us to never forget. These five survivors didn't blame God for their personal tragedies. For them, the Holocaust is one of several chapters of "man's inhumanity to man, where man loses his integrity, his belief in the sanctity of human life." Today, we need only glance to Serbia or Africa or Ireland or the Middle East for present day "inhumanities." Yes, we need somber reminders like "The Last Days."

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Mike McElreath can be reached via e-mail as mmcelrea@luwyo.edu