5 World War II Documentaries Worth Watching from the 2025 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

The annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is in full swing, and this year’s showcase includes a lineup of compelling movies with the theme of Holocaust and war stories.

The festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, has been ongoing since Feb. 22 and as a result, some of the screenings have already passed. But many still have tickets available, and even if you can’t attend screenings in the Atlanta area in person, you can still view many of the films online between March 6-17, 2025.

The highlights for military and veteran audiences at this year’s festival include a slate of World War II-era documentaries and narrative features, some of which touch on the intersection of military and entertainment. Movie buffs who won’t make the festival might be interested in keeping tabs on these films as they eventually make their way to streaming.

‘From Darkness to Light’

“From Darkness to Light” is a documentary that takes viewers through the many reasons why comedian Jerry Lewis’ now-legendary Holocaust film “The Day the Clown Cried” has never been seen by a mass audience, and why viewers may never, ever see it. The film was first produced in 1972 but never released, and there are still those who are obsessed with it.

Lewis' film is a drama about a clown who ends up in the Auschwitz concentration camp and leads children into the infamous gas chambers. While few have ever seen the film (“The Simpsons” alum Harry Shearer has, and he’s featured in “From Darkness to Light”), the script is available and some scenes have been released. This film talks about why.

‘Riefenstahl’

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the best documentary filmmakers of her time. She was also a favorite of Adolf Hitler, and her career was forever tainted by producing films for the Nazis, including “Triumph of the Will” (about the Nuremberg rallies) and “Olympia” (about the 1936 Berlin Olympics).

Riefenstahl escaped prosecution at the hands of the Allies after World War II ended, but she remained forever controversial, denying until the end that she had any hand in or knowledge of the atrocities unfolding around her. “Riefenstahl” looks at her personal life, later work and support from the West German people in the decades following the war.

‘Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire’

For most American schoolchildren, Elie Wiesel’s “Night” is required reading. He wrote it while imprisoned at Auschwitz and Buchenwald between 1944 and 1945. After the war, he became a celebrated speaker on the Holocaust and human rights. He died in 2016, but his memory lives on through his works and personal writing.

“Soul on Fire” uses his personal archives, recordings and unique, hand-painted animation to relive his life and legacy using his own words.

‘Quisling: The Final Days’

Vidkun Quisling was, at one point, known as the world’s most notorious traitor. A far-right politician, he grabbed power in Norway during World War II by collaborating with the German government after the Nazis invaded Norway in 1940. He was never recognized as anything other than a puppet of Hitler’s regime, and when the Allies defeated the Germans, he was captured, tried and executed.

“Quisling: The Final Days” is not only a dramatization of his last days as he faces the guilt of his crimes, but also a stark look at the rise of right-wing extremism and its threat to democracy.

‘Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief’

How did a relatively low-ranking Nazi SS officer amass such a large collection of priceless artwork, so much that he was able to restart his career as an art dealer after World War II? He stole them. Despite his rank, Bruno Lohse wasn’t just any Nazi officer: He was the primary art looter for Hermann Göring, who had the world’s largest collection of looted art during the war.

“Plunderer” is a documentary investigation into how Lohse stole European art for the Nazis, not only managed to escape not just prosecution, but execution, and how he resumed his career in Munich and beyond.

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