The Holocaust was a horrifying genocide that should never be forgotten. Six million Jews were slaughtered and killed by the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler, the inhumane and most powerful dictator of Germany during World War II. Unfortunately one cannot change the horrifying past of the Holocaust, however one can learn from the mistakes of the past, and prevent them from happening again. In a collective effort around the world, much has been done to educate all types of people around the world. Museums, tours of concentration camps, transcripts of the Nuremberg trials, survivor testimonials, and many films have informed and educated the public about the horrific events that took place in Europe during World War II. Directors such as Steven Spielberg and Roberto Benigni have taken advantage of Hollywood's large publicity capability, and have created two Oscar- award winning Holocaust films titled Schindler's List and Life is Beautiful, respectively. They both touched audiences around the world, and informed many who didn't know the details of the events that occurred in the Holocaust. Although both taught audiences around the world, each movie took on a different approach; Schindler's List portrayed the Holocaust through realism, whereas Life is Beautiful portrayed it through comedy. Even though Spielberg and Benigni differed in their intentions of making these two movies, both films caught the attention of adults and children, and awakened the consciousness of people and governments around the world. Whenever the warning signs of a genocide have occurred, governments around the world intervened to prevent the reoccurrence of another Holocaust.
To find evidence to support this thesis, I searched newspaper articles and film magazines to show that millions of people around the world were in fact watching these movies. I found criticisms and reviews on the two films to hear different people's opinions on the influence that the two films had.
