The Big Illusion (1993)

On October 6th, 1943, 120 Jews were captured by Gestapo while hiding in the church in the small fishing village Gilleleje. They were all sent to the concentrationcamp "Theresienstadt". After the arrival of the Danish Jews, Theresienstadt was turned into a gigantic set-piece, to be included in the Nazi propaganda programme. When a Danish Red Cross delegation were allowed to visit the camp in the summer of '44, they became spectators to a well rehearsed act which completely concealed the Nazi activities. Prior to the visit of the Danish delegation, 16.000 people had been killed to make "lebensraum", and after the delegation had left - and written a positive report about the conditions in the camp - nearly all witnesses to the hoax shared this fate. 90% of the Theresienstadt Jews died, but with a few exceptions all the Danish Jews survived. Using unique archive material this documentary gives a vivid impression of everyday life in the concentration camp, and furthermore it uncovers the fact that the Danish Jews in Theresienstadt were protected by an agreement between Dr. Werner Best and Nazi top leader Adolf Eichmann.