Band of Brothers Episode 9 'Why We Fight' REACTION!!

[@NikkiStevenReact]

Full watch-a-long reaction link below... Some after thoughts after watching and editing this reaction… it’s clear now that this episode really focused on the soldiers asking what they’re doing there and with Nix who feels like he’s hit rock bottom… seeing the concentration camps puts everything into a very different perspective for these soldiers who didn’t know why they were fighting. FULL: bit.ly/3y0OzMW

[@francisbartoszewski2284]

As a movie reaction you guys should really watch 'The Pianist', it links quite well to this.

[@duncanreid9199]

@@francisbartoszewski2284 was literally away to suggest that, beat me to it! Great minds think alike! 👍😁

[@lizd2943]

Bread expands in the stomach so it's a very bad idea to give it to someone who's been starving. The morning after they made the local Germans bury the bodies, the mayor of the town and his wife hanged themselves.

[@iTzYoMasterXX]

I know I said this already but I'm telling you, Black Summer is freaking crazy guys! Nonstop action from the first episode to the last! It's the craziest show I've ever seen! With lots of holy fuck moments!

[@lizd2943]

@El Vato When a malignant narcissist sees everything crashing in on them, that's often what they do. He did not want to be a Russian prisoner. His plan was his fantasies about wonder weapons and troops from nowhere like the Steiner attack.

[@or10nsharkfin]

General Eisenhower directed the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe, “Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.” General Eisenhower was prophetic over a lot of things.

[@mikeymike42]

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." We have already forgotten this great man's legacy in the west unfortunately

[@Damnblastify]

Did the Americans do all this by themselves? They liberated Europe from Nazi Germany?

[@kenmartin6597]

@@mikeymike42 One man's ambitions resulted in all this.

[@ClosedGame75]

Ike was a good man. The right man at the right time for the job, no question. He understood ... actually UNDERSTOOD ... how everything needed to be documented for a post-war showdown with the criminals behind the inhuman acts that had been carried out by the Nazis.

[@ZarkowsWorld]

@@mikeymike42 Also why 2nd amendment is super-important.

[@jinyatta4103]

the scene where Liebgott, who is Jewish, has to tell the prisoners they are to remain in the camp breaks my heart every time.

[@eq1373]

He reported became a psycho after that point

[@ericlarsen1920]

Liebgott's ancestry was Jewish but he and his siblings were baptized and raised as Catholic.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@ericlarsen1920 His mother was Jewish, and in Judaism, your "Jewishness" comes from the mother. He was raised Catholic.

[@kkwik5]

@@ericlarsen1920 for the nazis it doesn't matter. They would kill him and his brothers with no second thought. For the nazis a jew is even if the father of your great grandfather was a jew .

[@winkytinkytabby]

@@eq1373 he didn't, just went awol for a little while but he went home eventually. he did cut off all contact with the men of easy, though.

[@geoffgreen2105]

About six months after Easy Company found this camp, another company from the 1st Infantry Division, including my grandpa, marched through those gates. The prisoners were all gone, but everything else remained. The soldiers were given one order: "Never lie about what you saw here. Ever."

[@justjsse8917]

They also stuck every capture Nazi ss member in these camps afterwords

[@justjsse8917]

My grandpa was at Dachau. I didn't realize what he really meant till years later after he died.

[@ratthawks]

@@justjsse8917 I hear you my friend

[@KianoUyMOOP]

@@justjsse8917 Are you talking about the one where war-weary Allied soldiers became so pissed at what they saw that they summarily executed German prisoners? I think there was even a case where they gave the concentration camp (not the Nazi) prisoners weapons to go to town with their former captors.

[@MrAagaard]

@@genghisgalahad8465 the Dachau one happend. us troops rounded a group of SS men, claimed they tried "escape" and machinegunned them.

[@westernslav8855]

The guy carrying his father at 18:37 is saying in Serbian “please help him he’s still alive.”

[@ALX3rdS]

That's horrible...

[@sirboomsalot4902]

I’m honestly surprised a Serb family made it up that far, considering there were already camps in occupied Yugoslavia (which by all accounts were even more brutal than the German ones, which is something I can’t even fathom)

[@carlosbarreto449]

THIS MOMENT BREAK MY HEART

[@beedubree2550]

@@sirboomsalot4902 perhaps they were Serbians who were already living in Germany before the Nazis came to power

[@anahivega4281]

oh god 🥺 this part breaks my heart

[@bobbecker2046]

Spiers' face when Liebgott is translating is hear breaking, a cold, calculated soldier is moved to tears

[@CrashB111]

Because Spiers knows his role as a soldier is to fight other soldiers without remorse. The Holocaust wasn't that, Civilians weren't supposed to be part of the war. Let alone a designated target for destruction. Spiers is a good soldier, he's not a psychopathic murderer.

[@snatchadams69]

@@CrashB111 Unfortunately civilians very much became a part of the war. Civilians became the targets on both sides.

[@TexArizocan]

Didn't realize Spiers saw anything

[@TexArizocan]

​@@snatchadams69Germany and the soviet union didn't care about the people

[@TexArizocan]

​unfortunately. Germans killed 6 million + people(civilians) Stalin sacrificd more people than Germany@@snatchadams69

[@spddracer]

No one is ever ready for this episode. The reveal is wrenching.

[@ThanatoselNyx]

The word wrenching or heart wrenching is overused online, but here it is appropriate.

[@nt78stonewobble]

@@Glisern "Many are ready for it, most countries teach the realities of the camps as obligatory part of education. The magnitude, unless you've seen any depiction previously, does hit hard tho." You can read about it and you can try to imagine it, but... thankfully most people's imagination doesn't quite reach as far, so this depiction is really hard. And considering some of the original pictures I've seen, band of brothers, while close, also can't depict it in all it's horror. Band of brothers is an excellent show, that does a good job of showing how it was like, but the reality must have been so much worse.

[@31Mike]

@@Glisern It was something that I was taught in school, but before that, I was taught it at home in the 70's when I was under 10. My father made sure that I learned the truth of it, and at that young age, I saw the real film footage that was shot back then. So this episode has never really had the impact on my that it does on most that haven't seen such things. It has its impact, of course. But when you see the real thing and then see an acted representation of it, the acted representation doesn't have as much of an impact as the real thing.

[@Pete-it5ms]

Like I said in my posted comment from last week, episode nine breaks some people.

[@yonatanarbel3191]

@@31Mike I'm Jewish from Israel and as part of the study program they even send us to see extermination camps, speak to survivors, see videos of horror and more. this scene represent maybe 5% of the horrors of the Holocaust

[@Alex_Gorell]

Some of the victims were actually cancer patients who volunteered their time to do it. A lot of them didn’t live long enough to see the finish products.

[@diegoraulibarra36]

That is completely true man

[@wrenlinwhitelight3007]

Oh my god 😥That is heart-breaking...

[@youtubecommenter37]

Hats off to them for being willing to act in this episode

[@schallsj]

I never knew that

[@luketimewalker]

oh you meant the actors. I didn't know that. Bless them

[@Darnaguen]

You know it's serious when Speirs looks visibly shaken and Winters swears. I'm always the most impressed by the guy who plays the prisoner explaining the situation to the officers. Incredible, haunting performance.

[@ereini0n]

His name is Anatole Taubman, he's an iconic actor, who've been in so many shows and movies, in small but unforgettable roles.

[@TexArizocan]

​​@@ereini0nthought he was part of the cancer patients

[@winkytinkytabby]

That slow zoom-in to Lieb's face as the realization hits that it's his people in these camps will *always* get me.

[@bonnielemenager4030]

My father was in Europe at the same time as these real, American heroes. He was only 18 when he and his platoon liberated such a camp as is depicted here. After V-E Day, he was sent to the Philippines, where his unit helped to fight the Japanese and where he was also a part of the liberation of a Japanese camp who withheld Dutch prisoners. He never spoke about his experiences until my mother and I watched "Band of Brothers" with him, From the comfort of his chair, he got to relive it all. May we never see such times again. "Evil happens when good people say nothing".

[@Fergus_0703]

Thank you to your father for helping to liberate my country. The Japanese were much worst than the NotSeas though they were not punished as much as Germany.

[@bonnielemenager4030]

@@Fergus_0703 If my father was still alive (tomorrow would have been his 96 birthday), I am sure he would say "you are more than welcome".

[@Jdub54]

After we finish the series, Please be sure to watch the documentary “We stand alone together” it’s so fantastic. Interviews with many of the soldiers.

[@Redsdelight]

I agree. Nobody ever reacts to it...but it's a great documentary...hopefully they react to it.

[@Nick-ck5mk]

He has seen war is another fantastic documentary

[@Jdub54]

@@Nick-ck5mk I’ll check it out!

[@Redsdelight]

@@Nick-ck5mk It is. I think i recommended that to them in one of their previous episodes. Great documentary.

[@selkirk57]

Nikki has said that she really likes the interviews with the old members of Easy. This is the documentary to watch with the interviews.

[@J_C_CH]

And to think there are people out there who deny this horrific shit ever happened.

[@mileshill7196]

That’s why they took as many pictures and evidence as they could. They KNEW down the line that there would be people who would deny it.

[@joshuaortiz2031]

@@NandortheRelentless There are some of us here who know about the Armenian genocide. There is a lot of information about it online.

[@Naruto-bp6hm]

@@mileshill7196 Shame people weren't able to do nearly enough the same for the Japanese. They committed shit that was just as bad and at times even worse than the Nazis yet because they covered their tracks before anyone could get to them, they don't even acknowledge their war crimes and pretend like it never happened. Hell, they still got shrines that have names of convicted war criminals for fuck's sake.

[@gewalfofwoofia8263]

@@Naruto-bp6hm I know what you mean. We Filipinos, we never forgot.

[@shinHis3]

@@Naruto-bp6hm Indonesian here. I was taught in school how bad Japan was to our country. We were ruled by the Dutch >300 years and Japan only ~3 years, but it's said that the 3 years was far more horrible than what the Dutch did. To me it seems like the West has the tendency to go easier on people not from the West, they sort of give them more of benefit of the doubt since they're not sure they understand their culture. Or maybe they view themselves as superior, which, let's face it, at that time was undeniably true, so they give more slack to other cultures since "they're stupid and they don't know what they're doing". That's a problem though because if you stand for something and something else opposes it, it shouldn't matter where that something else comes from. You do the same with it as if it's done by one of you. It seems this "they're stupid and they don't know what they're doing" mentality has come to bite the West in the ass with the new uneducated generations since they forgot what they stand for and has only been pushed to be reminded again with immigration and identity issues.

[@ForgottenHonor0]

The extras who played the camp internees were actually cancer patients undergoing treatment! That's why they looked so dilapidated!

[@alexlim864]

And from all accounts, the cancer patients were in even better shape than the concentration camp inmates.

[@kiwiruna9077]

I didn't know that, thanks for that nugget of info.

[@TonyCypress5817]

It was also the first time the main cast saw them, so the reactions were real!

[@jasonmancil4324]

Jesus

[@praetorxian]

Also, the Free-French soldiers executing the Germans @15:40...the trigger man with the C96 pistol is Tom Hanks.

[@jamieross3563]

So noticeable that the first time Perconte calls O’Keefe by his real name is when he sees him sat in the camp upset at the surroundings to check he is ok, rather than dismissively calling him O’Brian. Also the contrast of when the German Generals wife catching Nixon breaking into her house and then when he sees her at the camp, and she has a guilty look like she knew the camp existed....the switch of having the moral high ground is very powerful

[@TheFacelessStoryMaker]

Well O'Keefe is a fresh faced recruit having never experienced war. And now he is thrust face first into seeing just what evil their enemy is doing and had been doing for years. He was sitting in the charred remains of a hut which most likely is where many died being burned alive not that long before E Company's arrival.

[@MrJrs1102]

One of the best lines in the movie “Fury” applies to this episode of BoB. When Bible tells Norman “Just wait until you see it. What a man can do to another man.”

[@charlesmcgowen7238]

@Josh Sierra Another line from "Fury" is the following..."Ideals are peaceful, but history is violent" - Brad Pitt

[@Spookyghost7]

As a student I studied abroad and met a German student who told me in highschool all German students are brought to a concentration camp so they don't forget their history. He was offended by the idea of denying it happened.

[@lusti6511]

In Switzerland our history teacher show us original footage of the CC, from german and allied perspective. In this series, they took terminally ill patients to "play" the imprisoned and they did a pretty good job producing the emotion and horror i saw in the original footage. But the worst was the german footage, a mass execution at a mass grave, one by one, pop .. pop .. pop. We actualy became physical sick by watching it. I visited Buchenwald, once a CC now a museum. The footage still in my memory, and now at the place where it happened. It was gutwrenching to the point, where i felt ashamed to be part of mankind. All what lasts is to upkeep the memory of the Shoah. Right now, the last survivors, eyewittness' of the events are dying out and soon there will be only footage, pictures and sound recordings of those events. We have to teach this lesson to future generations in the hope, they will never repeat history of that kind. I understand the offense you german friend took about the deniers of the Shoah, the Holocaust and the Endlösung. It's not just offending by any stretch of imagination, but those people are actually working towards a future, where horrors like this will likely happen again. I'm broadly agains shaming people for their opinions and im against limitating the freedom of speech of anyone. Except this. Those people have the be shunned and shamed publicly.

[@Etatdesiege1979]

Not only in Germany. I did two years of high school in Belgium. During our last school year, the whole class of 1997 went on a school program to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau around Krakow. For a month before the trip we had presentations by survivors, our history and literature teachers so we could understand the historical and political context of what we were going to see in Poland. The first thing that happens when you get to Birkenau is that you are ushered quickly into a small projection room and they show you the film that was shot by the Red Army when they liberated the camp early in 1945. It’s the most disturbing piece of film you will ever see ( I was 16 at the time). When I got out of the room I saw all my classmates crying and screaming. That visit has never left me and it made me a humanist and an antifascist. The education kids in Europe get about nazi crimes is top class. While here in America we can’t show kids a noose without everyone crying about hurting their feelings.

[@jamesdakrn]

Japan on the other hand.....

[@itzelwisteria1819]

​@@jamesdakrn True.

[@MrGrifter123]

@@Etatdesiege1979 they aren’t even teaching kids this these days. They would be in a uproar

[@kathyastrom1315]

In the book, the camp liberation only takes about a paragraph, because the Easy Company men sharing with Stephen Ambrose just did not want to talk about it.

[@gregall2178]

I haven't read the book, but I thought I heard or read somewhere that they didn't actually liberate the camp, but arrived after it had been.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

They also weren't the ones who principally did it.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

The camp was already abandoned by the Nazis if I’m not mistaken.

[@MetalDetroit]

Donald Burgett is a 101st veteran from Detroit. I met him once. His 5 books go from training to the end of the war. In beyond the Rhine he describes going through the Landsberg concentration camp, and has his personal photos.

[@SandyYoung1]

You’re not ready for this,I’m not ready for this and I’ve seen it 30 times

[@dragoninthewest1]

Same

[@Skiergold]

Doesn't matter how many times I've seen the show, the scenes of the camp are a knife between the ribs and straight through the heart.

[@OrAngeAnArchy]

I really like how they ramped up the episodes from Bastogne on. It helps civilians and people in the future (us), get the closest feeling of how crazy hard and traumatic the situations (Battle of the bulge), or running into a concentration camp, were.

[@D0CI87PC]

Same.

[@dje6719]

no one is ever truly ready for it it's something that if you think your ready for then you realize that your wrong I've watched this show at least 50 times and still can't get use to this scene

[@nickthepeasant]

The depressing thing is it wasn't "one man" - it took historical prejudices going back centuries to allow millions of people to get on board with treating Others so cruelly. It happens today in every country on earth to varying degrees

[@KYZA619]

Millions? That's a serious stretch. Most Germans didn't even know the camps existed. Heck, most Germans weren't even Nazi's or supporters of the Nazi party, at no point did the Nazi party receive the majority vote/support of German people.

[@GhostEye31]

@@KYZA619 It isn't much a stretch that Jews had been victimized throughout European history, maybe not every German, maybe not even most Germans, but certainly enough of them sat silently as anyone they knew who was Jewish disappeared, their businesses destroyed..their homes emptied...more knew than they let on I think. Maybe they didn't know they were killed like this..but they knew something, they had to.

[@KYZA619]

@@GhostEye31 I don't dispute that they probably did ignore things, or believe lies too easily, which resulted in the Holocaust. But I do dispute the idea that millions of people contributed and actively participated. Nazi Germany was a cauldron of fear, people were too afraid to speak out. I'm not saying that serious questions shouldn't be asked of those people, but I can't agree with associating the everyday citizen with Nazi war criminals. Also, I didn't disagree that Jews have been victimised throughout periods of history, they have. Almost every group of people has at some point.

[@gawainethefirst]

@@KYZA619 then how did they stay in power so long?

[@KYZA619]

@@gawainethefirst Did u not see "cauldron of fear" in my last comment? They had control over everything. When u have all the positions of power under ur control, you don't need to have all the people on ur side. If you want an in depth explanation, open a history book, preferably a few, from different authors/countries, for a more rounded view on WW2.

[@PointGiven007]

27:58. The problem was it wasn't just one man, it was many. Himmler, Goebbels, Goring, Heydrich, Bormann, and tens of thousands of others. I'm not blaming all Germans certainly, but there were plenty. And sadly almost all got away with it by killing themselves. I think Heydrich was the only one who got justice, and that was only by assassination during the war. Anyway it was a immensely sad episode, and I really enjoyed your conversation at the end talking about it.

[@kyleshiflet9952]

Eichmann was prosecuted in Isreal in the 60s for his part in the Holocaust

[@mjarrett1000]

It wasn't just the vision of one man or even a group of men. Actually, it was much worse than even THAT. It wasn't just Hitler and his inner circle who hated the Jews, it was most of Germany who resented the Jews for prospering while the rest of Germany suffered under the crushing and punitive economic burden the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany after WWI. Plus, it wasn't just Germany who were anti-semetic. It was most of Europe. "The Jewish Question" had been on the lips of Europeans for decades before Hitler came into power. It was a rather popular sentiment back then. In addition to all this, the idea of Eugenics had been a very popular concept throughout the scientific community and among academia even as far back as the late 1800's, and when I say Eugenics, I'm not just talking about selective breeding to create the "perfect man", but to perfect humanity as a whole by eliminating "undesirables". And then Hitler came along and made all that talk a reality. I think a lot of people were so stunned by the truth of what they previously thought as being a theoretical yet reasonable vision was in fact un unforgivable horror when actually implemented. Science absent humanity is capable of indescribable depths of evil. What's worse is the failure to recognize that this could never happen again. Yes it can. It took a nation blinded by resentment, bitterness, and envy, not the evil designs of one man at the top.

[@eq1373]

It wasn't just in Germany either. The Russians had pogroms a few decades earlier and no one even mentions the Holodomor. Between 7 and 10 million people died at Stalin's hand in just 2 years during that.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@mjarrett1000 I agree, well said. And the Japanese committed atrocities against the Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, and other Asians they deemed "inferior". The Rape of Nanking shocked the Nazi observers there. If you can shock a Nazi with atrocities, you've reached a level of monstrosity that is hard to fathom.

[@scarletbrotherhood7273]

@@eq1373 Not to mention before the German invasion the Russians were sending Jews they found in Poland to German camps. Stalin and his goons were even worse than Hitler and his, and the Commie fucks got away with it.

[@monsterkhan3414]

"Schindler's List" shows you how monstrous mankind can truly be, and in some ways we still haven't changed even after all these decades.

[@m.bennett]

Yes, it's the necessary next step to understand the reasons why they fought...

[@ghadrackpotato960]

Arguably we are worse, for profit snuff/rape videos on the internet, look at United States 1st Amendment auditor videos on youtube with adults going around intentionally abusing the first amendment to harass elderly people and E-Beg for bail money from feoreign terrorists to sew discord in small towns in the United States. It's horrific.

[@17thknight]

And then watch Come And See so you can start to wonder if humanity should just fizzle out for the best

[@_ZORRO__]

The most ironic thing is that people see this and can’t help but feel hate for those that committed these acts. But to act on that hate makes you the same as the ones who started it.

[@Scott-on-the-Beach]

Man created these horrible conditions, but it was also man who endured these conditions and upheld their religious beleif throughout it all.

[@LordBloodraven]

General Taylor said his greatest regret was not being with his soldiers at the Battle of Bastogne. I'd say declaring martial law and forcing the German civilians to tend to the dead in the concentration camps went a long way towards his redemption. He wasn't going to let anyone deny what had happened.

[@17thknight]

Yup. And honestly it was for the best.. Not as punishment, but so that they could all confront what happened. Germany did a good job on forcing their people to know what happened and not hide from it, partly because we didn't let them.

[@samfetter2968]

@@17thknight correct. Back then they had to. Be confronted with what they had refused to see for years. Today almost every german kid in school visits a concentration camp at least once. We do that to never forget. To teach us how important it is to be active to never let it happen again...as the alternative is too horrible. I wish every american kid could visit a concentration camp as well. It might be a valuable lesson. A neccessary lesson. Maybe then the "detention centers" at the US/Mexico border would finaly go away.

[@PaddyPower_IRL]

@@samfetter2968 You did not just compare border detention centres to nazi concentration camps. Go ask the UN to remove their refugee camps. IF Mexico is such a horrible country then maybe someone needs to go and liberate the people of Mexico.

[@alcor7104]

​@@samfetter2968 About those detention centers at the border: those unfortunately are just the symptoms of a much deeper issue. The Central American refugees mainly came from destabilized countries experiencing high levels of govt. corruption, crime, and violence. Interestingly enough, one of the main factors identified as to why these countries are in such disorder is/was the U.S. For more than half a century the U.S. has been bringing down CA governments perceived to be "soft on communism", and installed puppets of their own. Most of these puppets became dictators. American businesses also had a major hand in maintaining the grotesquely iniquitous land ownership disparity in these countries. Huge haciendas owned by the politically-connected elite (almost all of whom have business partnerships with the US) keep getting bigger and bigger, grabbing land from those who have close to none, hence feeding the communist narrative about American oppression. So you have about 2-3 generations' worth of citizens from multiple CA countries that have known nothing but suffering and inequity. Add to that all the criminal elements created by the 'drug pipeline' supplying the U.S. with cocaine (and heroin previously), a refugee crisis would definitely be inevitable. So if you want to educate U.S. citizens (and children) about *why* you have these 'detention centers' at the borders, you need to educate them about the root causes. Maybe have your 'murican 'America First' nationalists-denialists roam the side streets of Tegucigalpa, San Salvador, and Guatemala City for a few days.

[@samfetter2968]

@@PaddyPower_IRL honey...I am not the only one. Every single Holocaust survivor that publicly anounced his opinion on them...and that were quite a few...called them concentration camps. Wanna argue with them too?

[@WraithWTF]

This show, The Pacific, Hacksaw Ridge, and Schindler's List should honestly be mandatory viewing in high school senior year history classes (or whatever the foreign equivalent to courses taken at 17-18 years old would be...uni I guess?)

[@christopherstorms5122]

Memphis belle. Another good true story.

[@solvingpolitics3172]

You are correct.

[@austinoginski9513]

Add in “The Flags of our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima” along with a few others and I think you could really imprint the cost of war, and the cost to humans that a lack of compassion has.

[@PianoMoverSmith1]

A Bridge Too Far and Hamburger Hill slide in there nicely

[@e-san6111]

there’s a vietnam movie that shows how some us soldiers burned villages and raped a girl. I forgot the name but i think that should be on the list

[@aboxofbeans]

The scene when they open the train car door and it's just piled with bodies and the one hand falls forward like it was trying to reach out and escape is so haunting. Just an absolute gut punch.

[@cfinley81]

When Steven says, "What you learn from a history book is different from what you see play out" is 100% accurate. Back in the late-90's, Schindler's List was being shown on TV as a special uncut and my mom made my brother and I watch it. Even though I had already read about the Halocaust, seeing it was the moment life changed for me as I saw the world and what humans are truly capable of when it comes to evil. I didn't sleep a wink all that night and mom let me stay home from school the next day. I couldn't get the killing out of my head.

[@TexArizocan]

Nowadays history isn't being told like it was with us

[@gishgali8354]

I thought Steven's take on this episode is the best I have heard. Pointing out the difference the impact has on high school kids and on grown adults was fascinating to think about. Really great job.

[@immortaljanus]

It's the difference between show and tell. You get told in high school about it, not you get to be shown.

[@SamSung-nf6tr]

We need more projects like this.

[@yomvanhaver]

In France in high school we watch Nuit et Brouillard, a documentary by Alain Resnais The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution. the film combines new color and black and white footage with black and white newsreels, footage shot by the victorious allies. It’s hard to watch. But still important to see.

[@andreraymond6860]

I also watched 'Night And Fog' (Nuit Et Brouillard) in my pastoral class here in Quebec. It had a devastating effect on me as well. Resnais took a poetic approach to the subject matter. There is one scene in which we see the camps at the time of filming. The camera lingers on some flowers growing along the barbed wire fence and the narrator describes it as a blasphemy that life should return, that beauty should flourish in such a place. Powerful.

[@baronnuuke7821]

I've been in Auschwitz, Poland (the camp Winters mention in this episode, "the Russians found one 10 times bigger, execution chambers, ovens") it's just almost impossible to grasp how big and complex this facility was, and only for the purpose of killing innocent people. And at the same time, I was there in the summer and everything around it was beautiful, a lot of nature, forest...etc it was very hard to imagine people dying inside that landscape. I think it's probably the reason why Auschwitz is depicted in movies always in winter, snow and night, with big prison lightning and stuff. Horrible

[@Con5tantine]

They kept the camp hidden from the actors so their reactions would be first-time and genuine.

[@JnEricsonx]

I can imagine acting that scene, trying to not curse your head off in horror and shock.

[@luketimewalker]

oh man

[@jameswg13]

Not quite. They did at first but they offered the actors a chance to look at it before hand however all refused as they wanted their reactions to be genuine

[@Con5tantine]

@@jameswg13 Thanks for the clarification

[@mikeserot1410]

Ross McCall said he was offered the chance to visit a real concentration camp before the episode was filmed but he declined. He wanted his reaction to be as genuine as everyone else's.

[@McDTank75]

The part where they kick the German citizens out of their homes, in their minds it was justice for all the French, Dutch and Belgian citizens made homeless more permanently. I believe it was Winter’s book that he mentions this, that it was no less than what the Germans did to every other country they invaded.

[@martinloss4171]

ironically what they did was against the US constution/bill of rights (from moral prespective)

[@ereini0n]

And they literally kicked them out for a night, just so they could sleep indoors for once. The Germans kicked people out of their homes for years or for life.

[@Joe-el2wx]

Well the Allies did it first. Ever heard of WW1 or the Treaty of Versailles?

[@ffjsb]

@@Joe-el2wx Ever hear of the Revolutionary War??? What did you think the British did to the Colonists??? How far back you wanna go?

[@leosimon241]

@@Joe-el2wx Yeah the treaty were Germany only paid for less of a quarter of the damage they did on the French soil during WW1 and after acted as a victim of the treaty. France paid more in war reparations after the Franco-Prussian war than Germany did after WW1 and nobody in France blamed Germany for that, for taking away Alsace and Moselle yes but not for paying.

[@Eodsgm369]

The NCO is the backbone of the Army. You both have done an outstanding job reacting truly and respectfully. I retired in 2017 after 24yrs and haven't been able to watch war films in a long time. Thank you for helping me ease into it with your reaction videos. I didn't have to do it alone.

[@acehole727]

Unfortunatly the "Dear John" letters are pretty common for deployed military men.

[@ronweber1402]

Buck was another one of the guys whose wife left him by letter.

[@youtubecommenter37]

I was single everytime I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn’t intentional. I just happened to be single whenever I deployed. And, for that, I’m grateful. I know guys that didn’t even get Dear John letters. They got an email from friends saying “Hey, your girlfriend has been around town with this other guy. And that other guy has been driving around in your car”

[@HollywoodMarine0351]

I read somewhere CPT. Nixon cheated on his wife Katharine while he was stationed in England.

[@joec9693]

They even mentioned Babe getting one back in Ep1. He got a "Dear Babe" letter as Guarnere put it

[@victorcachat7984]

Got mine via email a day before Thanksgiving after 14 months in Iraq.

[@ForgottenHonor0]

When I convinced my mom to watch this series with me, she almost didn't make it through this episode. Thank you for your tears, Nikki, and your sweat, Steven. You are not alone.

[@GrumpyOldGuyPlaysGames]

On the one hand, everybody who has seen this series knew this episode was coming and knew how hard it would hit. On the other, we absolutely could not mention a thing for fear of spoiling it. I'd like to apologize to you personally for that. I'm sorry you had to go through it. But we all did the same.

[@lisacalkins2895]

@@skyrabbit74 I believe you’re correct, I watched a WWII historian react to this episode. He said Easy Company didn’t reach this camp till the day after it was discovered by a different unit. Them making the discovery was one of the creative liberties used for impact.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

@@lisacalkins2895 but the 101st did reach the camp, and yes a different unit I think had found the Kaufering camp initially. I don’t think the makers of the series knowing their history of making Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List before that we’re going to let this go from the viewers of the series. It’s fact from truth. And I think Spielberg said something to that effect himself about the truth whereas KZbin historians are about the facts as if that’s all there is to the dramatized 10-part miniseries. So many stories untold and that’s one company in one regiment in one airborne division in the war. There’s no mistaking at the bigger story. and there’s a truthfulness to the story telling overall.

[@Enrique.510]

@@skyrabbit74 yes, this group of Soldiers werent the ones that discovered this camp. But they arrived the day after to help. This series is based on true events, but obviously the producers and writers will incorporate other things for television. Doing this for the reveal concentration camps, something we all knew was going on, but had completely left our minds, was great writing. And it was shot and produced incredibly well. This is a series after all, not an encyclopedia.

[@TheDavidws10]

Great video. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and reactions. Back in 1986, when I was in the Navy, I visited the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich. One of the most heart-rending experiences of my life. Yes. The camp still stands. But not as a symbol of German greatness, but as an humbling, repentant reminder of what their ancestors did. The atrocities committed against fellow human beings. While I was there I was able to speak with one of the curators (yes, I speak German), I asked him why the camp still stood. He replied, "This is a matter of national embarrassment. We want our youth to learn from this history so that it is not repeated."

[@Meshgeroya]

I visited Dachau in 2007 when i was in Germany with my Highschool exchange group. To this day it was the creepiest feeling i've had on earth. The silence of the parade ground. There were no birds. It felt like the world knew what happened there.

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

I remember reading the diary of Anne Frank, a Dutch Jewish girl whose family hid from the Nazis for nearly five years before they were betrayed and died in a concentration camp. I was twelve, the same age she was when she died, and it had a huge impact on me. (I'm not Jewish, but my parents had a number of Jewish friends and both the best man and maid of honor at their wedding were Jewish, so I've known and liked Jewish people all my life.)

[@ccalkin]

I think everyone should watch Schindler's list for educational purposes... But a big part of me hates putting people through it, even though I know it's important

[@TazorNissen]

I agree. The truth is ugly, but we can’t hide from it.

[@leonbrooks2107]

Schindler’s list and The Pianist.

[@GhostEye31]

I actually did watch Schindler's for educational purposes though it wasn't my first time seeing it, we watched it during a World Religions course while I was in high school.

[@eodyn7]

What they need is a movie on Nanking.

[@namansheth3609]

@@eodyn7 I was watching there reaction and remembering myself the atrocities of war, I immediately thought of Nanking because I researched it a lot as well. I mean Jesus Christ it was truly the embodiment of evil presented as a massacre, and the worst kind be it. Yes more people definitely need to learn about Nanking and something on the level of this and Schindler's list would be an incredible way to educate them. I feel like people often forget just how horrible the Japanese were as well, arguably even worse than the Germans. Although both were equally horrible in their own respective ways as well.

[@annapires991]

I really appreciate this episode and how it re-calibrates our perspective of the war, and why it happened. We get lost a little through our heros’ journey, so it’s a nice reminder. The only thing I’d add is that this wasn’t a single mad man’s plan, it had the support of enough people and institutions to happen and allowed to carry on like this. Terrible, awful stuff, and that’s why we keep vigilant and honor the ones who lost their lives opposing it, germans and everywhere.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

True, the anti-Jewish sentiment was there already, and Hitler played on that sentiment to get into power and then executed a plan to destroy everything Jewish. It's hard to believe there are still people who see Hitler as an example to be followed, even harder to believe how close we came to seeing this happen again.

[@karstenstormiversen4837]

@@bloodymarvelous4790 You now Hitler actually said in an intervue that the camp was inspeierd by him learning about the american genocide on the native americans.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@karstenstormiversen4837 I wonder why there are more American Indians now than in the 19th century? No comparison, liar.

[@karstenstormiversen4837]

@@catherinelw9365 I guess as usual you dont learn real history in the us! Only that you are the greatest country in the world! Something you are not and never actually have been! Go to the Librarys and read some books about the topic! Maybe you find out that it was about 5 to 10 millions natives around 1700 and after around the year 1920 it wasnt more than a couple of hundred thousand left! Why is that? But you have always whitewashed your history so no suprice that you dont now shit!

[@MetalDetroit]

@@karstenstormiversen4837 There is no possible way there were 5-10 million native Americans without a single major city. And to say that many were murdered is absurd. Most American Indians died from disease like small pox anyway, which they didn’t have a natural immunity to which Europeans did. And the gift of “small pox blankets” is a myth too given that microbiology didn’t exist at the time.

[@Balor22]

When we dehumanize a population, our cruelty will have no boundaries.

[@ScarriorIII]

And when dehumanizing is not enough, we vilify. It's already happening now. Say the wrong thing, think the wrong thing, you get labeled an "ist" or even a Nazi, though those who would do so clearly have no clue what they are saying. Mark my words, we're close. Shoot, a North Korean defector just said that American Universities silence speech more than North Korea.

[@tomgrant29]

@@ScarriorIII I don't think that US universities are telling students to spy and report on their own relatives, under pain of three generations of family being sent to work camps for the "crimes" of an individual, but sure, carry on believing your BS

[@tomgrant29]

@J Hoop That's just literally not happening mate, go ask Q about it I guess

[@catherinelw9365]

@@tomgrant29 Are you in the US? If not, maybe you have no idea and should STFU.

[@cardmandeer]

@J Hoop BS, take your crap elsewhere

[@stephenkometz7536]

I’ve been to war twice seen horrible things and things I’ll never forget for sure. Seeing this episode though I wasn’t ready. Don’t think I’ve ever cried that hard in my life. I know the pain and horror war brings I’ve seen it like I said but this was a whole another level that just is unreal to even think of. God bless them all and may they all rest in peace. What human beings are capable of doing to each other is truly horrifying and sad.

[@itdano]

When I was stationed in Germany in the mid-90s I had a German girlfriend who invited me to a family dinner, where I met her grandfather who was a WWII veteran. I remember having a moment with him on the balcony of their apartment having a smoke where he broke down trying to apologize to me in broken English after finding out I was raised in a mixed Christian and Jewish household. It was a rough day for both of us. I also took the opportunity while I was there to visit the memorial and museum at Dachau. That was a really hard day. This episode brings back every memory of those moments and I cry every single time I see it, whether I'm actually watching the episode for myself or watching a reaction video like yours. Someone else said it in another comment, but I'm so sorry we couldn't give you any kind of heads up about this episode. We all knew it was coming, we all knew what it would do to you guys, and we didn't warn you. It was for the best. You needed to get hit with it just like we all were, but it really sucks to see you so hurt.

[@HighLordUberDude]

At 18:38 The Prisoner said "People help me, please help he is still alive you can still save him. Please."

[@hadoken95]

This is the hardest and yet most important episode of the entire series.

[@ukaszjanowski2183]

When speaking of a camp ten times larger, liberated by Soviets, Winters probably referring to Auschwitz. I've been to Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and - with all due Respect - one time is totally enough for me, because it's a shocking experience. "It was people who prepared this fate" - motto Zofia Nałkowska's short story collection.

[@shadow9478]

Couldn't have been Auschwitz. This camp is in Landsberg Germany, liberated April 24, 1945. Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army January 27, 1945. By this time in the war, the Soviets had already liberated all 5 death camps in Poland.

[@Orapac4142]

@@shadow9478 Think Easy company may have been a bit busy to keep up to date on all the news going on in the Eastern Front.

[@MothproofKT]

This is why we can never forget. Why we have to teach our children about the horrors that have happened in this world. It’s how we stop history repeating itself. It’s so important we put our discomfort about learning and watching these things secondary to never forgetting these people. The men, women, and children who were put to death for nothing more than their religious beliefs, disabilities, their jobs, and all because of a country steeped in bigotry, ignorance, and hate. There are so few survivors of the war left alive to this day, and carrying their stories forward is so, so important. There’s a documentary series on Netflix called “Greatest Events in WWII In Colour” and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about the events of the war. Thank you to Nikki and Steven for choosing this show, and hopefully in doing so you have opened a few more eyes and minds to what some people still refuse to acknowledge or see. And for handling it with the seriousness it deserves.

[@tracyhudson4736]

I was asked by my husband to watch this with him. I had never heard of it and it being 24 yrs old when I watched it... My reaction was exactly the same as you Nikki. I cried the whole way thru.... I did a deep dive on every single one of the men who was mentioned in this series. Sgt Winters was a saint! Luz, leibtgot, spears, Lipton allllll of them I feel like I've known them forever now. I so wish America felt this way now about our country and we all need to appreciate every single free moment. Thank you for letting me watch your reactions. It gave me to excuse to watch band of brothers a 3rd time! God bless

[@ClassicalDan1]

One of the few pieces of media that can make me cry. Every time.

[@adamgrunther1367]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tv episode more heartbreaking than this one.

[@mikecarson9528]

That thing that Shifty says about, " Under different circumstances, he and I might have bee good friends"...gets me every time..

[@tyrionlannister1628]

Amazing reaction, got me tearing up over here.. I'm happy you didn't look away during those extremely tough scenes.. we have to remember why we fought that war and what it was about. To know history is to learn from it, so it never happens again.

[@PianoMoverSmith1]

The French officer shooting the Germans is Tom Hanks. Kid getting it on when Spiers comes in is Tom Hardy

[@nickmitsialis]

Just to add: the soldiers they shot were 'supposedly' Frenchmen who collaborated with the Germans, either as paramilitary forces like 'The Milice' or as Foreign recruits for various SS units (best known of which was called 'Charlemagne')

[@catherinelw9365]

@@nickmitsialis Webster wrote about that shooting. He said they were German boys who were not old enough to shave. Where did you get your "information"?

[@luketimewalker]

really?

[@nickmitsialis]

@@catherinelw9365 I can't safely say; I thought it was at Mark Bando's nitpicky site about his critique of BoB, but it's not. I thought it was discussed ad nauseum at IMDB's old BOB Discussion Board (RIP!) by other posters (some of whom purported to be servicemen of various branches, including an active duty 'tread head' who walked over most of Western Europe's tank battlefields). It made sense to me that LeClerc's men would shoot 'traitors' but that a German 'grunt' would be better put to use mining coal in the Saar. I had to say that France was pretty 'vindictive' towards German POWs.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@nickmitsialis Well read Webster’s book and you’ll find out. He wrote of it in detail.

[@americanfreedomlogistics9984]

Subliminal message with the musician putting his violin into a “coffin style “ case

[@Reblwitoutacause]

The death of an Empire.

[@kriswelanetz9537]

Also, amidst the chaos of war, alcoholism and killing we see Nixon for the cultured, Yale and West Point educated man that the is with his immediate recognition of Beethoven. Flash back to his comment in episode 1 of Chicago being a civilized place for civilized men. This is a very underappreciated scene commentating on the duality of man.

[@vaahtobileet]

@@watsondillon1997 Third Reich wasn't for "Third Rome". 1st Reich would've been the Holy Roman Empire (which wasn't "Roman", but a Central-European German collection of states and city-states), 2nd Reich = The German Empire 1871-1918. The inter-war Weimar Republic was disregarded, so Nazi Germany was the "Third Reich".

[@watsondillon1997]

@@vaahtobileet thank you for the knowledge, I'll delete my comment so as to avoid spreading misinformation

[@taylorfamilyreactions]

Having already seen the series when it was originally released and knowing what was going to happen in this episode doesn’t stop me getting crushed watching it but seeing how upsetting Nikki found it broke my heart! It truly is one of the most impactful episodes you will ever watch and it will stick with you for years to come. You both reacted to it with class and respect 👏❤️

[@praetorxian]

I was thinking the same. The length of the concentration camps scene...no talking over the scene, just stunned sadness and tears. Thank you for showing the respect it deserved.

[@MrTech226]

@@praetorxian That's reason Tom and Stephen kept actors from concentration camp scene until filming for their honest reactions like real soldiers seen 70+years ago.

[@praetorxian]

@@MrTech226 I'm well aware. Cheers.

[@MrTech226]

@@praetorxian Ok cheers!

[@PianoMoverSmith1]

Since you have started this series, most of us knew this episode was coming. For both of you, as much as I wanted you guys to see this, I didn't want you to. When Randleman, Christenson, Perconte, Luz and O'Keefe go out I was waiting for it. When Perconte started running back I started getting anxious for you, when Nikki said "is this a concentration camp" my heart sunk knowing what was about to happen next to you both.

[@Kiwigrunt]

As a 30 year veteran of some of the worst wars humanity has perpetrated on each other and a decade as a humint Intel/ interrogation specialist, never have I seen such an honest reaction as you two in this episode.... you two show true love for your fellow man, bless you both xx

[@valleytrapstarz]

So you wasn't in combat arms that job you did ain't outside the wire..so how did you see the worst of humanity?..no disrespect I'm just asking.

[@Kiwigrunt]

@@valleytrapstarz spent plenty of time outside the wire friend, but my SQ was Intel/ interrogation.

[@valleytrapstarz]

@@Kiwigrunt right on..I was a 11b..I seen some shit..I wouldn't in no way compare anything I've seen to the holocaust..that's why your comment made me feel a certain way..stay blessed brother

[@Kiwigrunt]

@@valleytrapstarz thankyou for your service brother, we may be miles apart but we are one in the same.

[@Kiwigrunt]

@@valleytrapstarz 24 years as a recon sniper, I eared my place dude, much respect.

[@asdfasdf5695]

I love the final shot of this episode as the musician puts his (cello, violin?) in the case and closes the lid as if a coffin is being shut on all the victims of the Holocaust as the camps are being discovered and they are being put to a proper rest.

[@MrBandholm]

More like, it ends the illution of "German culture", that the pre-war German culture is forever dead and will not come back (because of the holocaust). It is not the victims that are being put to rest, it is the image, and innocens, of the German people that is being put away.

[@Hellafar]

I didn't remember this was the episode about concentration camps... but, as the patrol run back to inform, I knew Nikki was about to have a very hard time. One of the greatest monstruosities humans have done in history.

[@damokt]

Not to downplay what happened here, but history is ripe with worse examples of human cruelty. But yes, this is still the latest reminder that no matter what day and age, no matter how far we come as a society, humans will always be capable of hideous acts like these. That's just what we are.

[@ZuperFlax]

@@damokt It's not really a competition but I do definitely think The Holocaust qualifies as one of the worst monstrosities. The sheer scale, dehumanisation and cruelty that was carried through is insane. Sure some particular acts in history might've been more cruel (the act itself), but the consequences in terms of suffering because of the Holocaust is on a whole other scale.

[@damokt]

@@ZuperFlax The scale of the Holocaust is shocking, for sure. But the shit people have done to each other during the middle ages or older time periods? And that isn't nearly as well documented as the Holocaust is, so I imagine it was even worse than we know.

[@Eagle3302PL]

It's not a terrible monstrosity because people died, or because of how horrible their deaths were. It's monstrous because of how dehumanising, efficient and effective it was. The Nazis managed to identify, capture, kill and dispose of millions of civilians as not a military operation, but as part of funcion of their government, considering SS was a paramilitary organisation, just another branch of the leading party. They did it as efficiently and ruthlessly as we usually kill off sick livestock. If they didn't lose territory in the war they'd also get away with covering the whole thing up. Also it wasn't just Jews and minorities, it was anyone who threatened or dared challenge the party doctrine: artists, intellectuals, political opposition, they got put on the meat grinder too. Then there's the subject of horrible "science" experiments, torture and forced labour of the prisoners.

[@dmann05]

Tom Hardy is so young as to be almost unrecognizeable. He was the soldier reading the article that said German soldiers may in fact be "bad" and they joke about it, and he shows up again later during the death camp scene

[@davebeattie9573]

When I was a kid my dad served in the British army and while he was stationed in (what was then) West Germany I got the uncomfortable opportunity to visit the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp twice (once with my family and once with my school). I again visited it when I myself served in the British army. It is a uniquely disturbing experience! There was not a sound to be heard, not even birds, animals, or insects. Everything felt still, as if frozen in time. Despite the fact that there were dozens of visitors each time, there was hardly any human sounds either. Voices were kept at a hushed whisper, but even that felt excessively loud and intrusive. In the more quieter moments you can hear yourself breathing. The whole time I was there I felt like I was an unwelcome intruder. I have never anywhere else, or at any other times, felt like this.

[@mrmuppet8555]

I felt exactly the same

[@dritzzdarkwood4727]

I just learned, that the extras for concentration camp scenes were people with terminal diseases like cancer who volunteered, so that we may never forget....

[@MrJordiBaby]

Tom Hardy looks 16 years old in this! Tough episode this one (as if the others were walks in the park...).

[@canadian__ninja]

Well this was filmed 20 years ago. He probably was pretty close to 16. Edit: googled it, he was 23 when this was filmed. So yeah, not far off.

[@travisbernhardt2447]

I've been watching this for the first time along with you two, and this episode hit me really hard. This entire series should be required viewing. It is important stories and history from a very unique perspective.

[@praetorxian]

Been waiting for this notification. Get your tissues out, the tears are gonna flow.

[@Mr.Ekshin]

I'm a 50 year old guy, and I cried harder than Nikki when I watched this one. Lets just say that her crying was much cuter than my ugly crying.

[@LFC1892KOP]

I just happened to stumble across your video after searching for clips of BoB. This episode was the hardest one for me to watch and still is the hardest. The range of emotions is crazy. My heart breaks for those who were murdered by those scumbags, and my heart breaks for our brave soldiers who had to see this first hand. …and then it goes to anger and happy that we beat their asses. But as you touched on toward the end of this video, people in our country need to study and review what happened back then. Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.

[@minthitsaing1529]

The same thing is happening right now in China with the Uyghurs and other minorities. We are doomed to repeat history if we don't learn from it.

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

Meanwhile Disney are busy thanking one of these camps for letting them film nearby!!

[@minthitsaing1529]

@@ComradeCommissarYuri it's all a shit show.

[@rickiecomeaux8287]

Same thing will happen in the US too. Republicants vs Demonrats, black vs white, vaccinated vs unvaccinated, et cetera. The elite Nazis escaped and were brought into the US via Operation Paperclip. Other Nazis went to USSR and now they are the globalist sowing discord everywhere.

[@stijnbruggeman687]

@@rickiecomeaux8287 welcome to the hunger games . same shit is going on al over the world now

[@squaaaaak3178]

@@rickiecomeaux8287 Really? You find the Trumpists and insurrectionists and white supremacists equivalent to the Democrats? What are you smoking?

[@vicjr74]

I remember when I was in middle school in 1988 my history teacher had us meet 2 concentration camp survivors. The survivor told us how her and her sister were taken on a train to a camp and started separating the families. She started holding her sister and didn't let her go. She said only reason they were allowed to stay together is because they had different colored eyes. She went on to show us her tatoo marking and said she never saw any of her family again. I was 13 when I heard her story and I will never forget it.

[@brianhouston5368]

One of the best and most important hours of television ever filmed. Thanks for watching this series, you two.

[@BiggySn1p3r]

FUN FACT: The actor who plays Frank (the guys that yells at O'Keef) was a lost boy in Robin William's Hook.

[@youtubecommenter37]

He was a very active child actor. He was in Newsies and Basketball Diaries with Leonardo DiCaprio. He probably had the biggest acting resume out of all them when he did Band of Brothers

[@tracyfrazier7440]

I love Frank. He is one of my favorites.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Perconte!

[@Donkarnage2525]

@@youtubecommenter37 I don't see him in Newsies anywhere?

[@catherinelw9365]

James Madio.

[@greggpangle3821]

I'm 53, I grew up surrounded by Veterans, and knew about all of this from them. Almost all my neighbors, plus my male relatives. I was 5. I cried then, I'm crying now.

[@MochiFrijoles]

New follower here, I’ve enjoyed your reactions to this series, and this episode was always the hardest to comprehend for me. When I was younger I visited Dachau Camp in Germany, and it still haunts me to this day. Even after all those years, to see the shower/gas chamber, and crematory ovens, I still get chills thinking about it. As an Army Brat and Veteran, the meaning of this episode will always resonate with me. Thanks for the honest reactions.

[@Rfcfan1996]

This episode is the hardest one yet. I cry every time I watch it.

[@jeffreybaker4399]

Not knocking Nikki's reaction to the "Nazi wife" in any way. But if you look at the picture frame that Nixon broke, there is a mourning band on it. The German officer in the photograph, her husband , was dead. Nice little touch by an excellent film staff.

[@paulosa8823]

"We found something when we were on patrol" "Frank, Frank what is it?" "I don't know sir" Queue in the tears

[@skaterpulse6746]

Bare in mind this camp was just a work camp. I cant even imagine the things the Soviets saw when they were moving through Poland and started coming across the Death Camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek

[@thepsychicspoon5984]

For your question "Did people not take this serious" Its called "War Weariness". People can only take this so much, before they just accept this as normal life. Plus its hard not to relate to something that they can't see, hear or feel. Military life takes a toll on you after a while. Not just for the soldiers but families and loved ones as well. Some haven't seen each other for some time they just "move on". My first marriage didn't survive military life. I've seen a military spouse (will keep the name secret) that hear of their soldiers passing on react without skipping a beat, smiled and said "Cool, when do I get the money". No sorrow, no remorse. Only cared about the money. While he was deployed she abandoned their kids at his parents and started a relationship with a drug dealer. Selfish, yeah. Its human nature. As we see in this episode human nature isn't always benevolent.

[@nt78stonewobble]

We also don't know what kind of husband Nix was... He was drinking already from the first episode when they left from training. Still, taking the dog is shitty... no matter what.

[@danieljette7409]

That was part of the propaganda in those days, repeat it enough and people will believe it. The same tactic is now being used by fascists in the USA and other countries (Brazil, Italy might be electing a far right government soon). American troops and Allies (I’m Canadian and have served for 25 years) are the Antifa!

[@adambencze8409]

I love you guys. I'm so glad that i can relive again the whole series with you. Your reactions are so real and honest. This series is the one of a kind of experience that everybody should have in lifetime.

[@CubejamF1]

Going into watching these reactions from episode 1.. this was the episode I was just counting down the episodes until you guys got to. This show is incredible.. this episode remains with me always. It doesn't matter what I watch or how much time goes by, this episode of this show hit me so hard I will never forget it.

[@uhtredsonofuhtred779]

I've seen the entire series about 8 times. No matter how many times, I always choke up during this episode. The visuals and the dramatic music really bring it all to the forefront. This episode should be required watching in all High schools.

[@gweedus]

No matter how many times i see this, I get chills at glimpses of the gate. I visited Dachau in 2016 with my sister. The air felt SO heavy. We cannot forget.

[@Flufferz626]

I watched this series when it aired for the first time when I was 13. I remember crying and asking my dad why they couldn't give them as much food as they wanted if they were hungry. He was crying too (second time out of 3 I have ever seen him tear up in my life) and he tried to explain to me how they'd eat themselves sick. I didn't want to understand it.

[@aljosapetkovic69]

This one.. hits hard for sure. The guy carrying his father in his arms is saying "help him he's still alive" in Serbo-Croatian.

[@prollins6443]

I never knew that was what he was saying. Holy shit, that hits a lot harder now.

[@Nyx_2142]

And the Serbs would go to commit similar acts of genocide against Bosnians and Croats with death squads and so on. Like Japan, they later spun it as themselves being the victims but it doesn't quite work so well for them when the events are still living memory.

[@aljosapetkovic69]

@@Nyx_2142 LOL ok buds. I think you have some more reading to do! - also does that make it ok?? confused by the comment slightly whats your point?

[@dallassukerkin6878]

It broke my heart all over again watching you guys go through this :hugs:. Your closing words were so on the money but the looks in your eyes spoke worlds before you organised your thoughts to speak on it.

[@SovermanandVioboy]

The Husband of the woman in red was an Officer of the Wehrmacht btw (easy to tell by the insignia on the collar) - So he was probably not working in the camp, if u wondered. The camps were under command and guard of the SS, exclusivly.

[@WhackoMacko]

I've been looking forward (if that's even the right expression) to you guys watching this episode. At the time, when the show was on for the first time, I was totally floored by it .. didn't expect it at all. I found your reaction and what you guys discussed afterwards incredibly moving - it's something that everyone needs to adopt in every corner of their lives in my opinion. Thank you for your honesty and integrity watching this series, and particularly this episode. A vital piece of education on the realities of this particular war, and the lessons we can take from it.

[@31Mike]

I disagree that being young means you can't comprehend the impact or learn the lessons of this aspect of the war. In the 70's, I was a kid under 10, and my father made sure that when documentaries were on about WWII, I was there to watch them. What you saw in this episode was only a small representation of what the reality was. As that young, under 10 kid, I saw the real films that were shot back then of the actual survivors... and of the bodies of those who did not survive. So while this episodes does have its impact, having seen the actual footage, it's not as big of an impact for me. But I completely agree that this episode was needed and it does a good job of getting the truth of what happened, out to people who otherwise likely would never see this kind of thing. For me, personally, I was that 'history nerd' who devoured all things from my history books and listened intently to my history teachers. In college, I took history classes just for the 'fun' of it, the credits weren't needed and did nothing toward my degree. So I understand that I'm not 'typical' in that respect. lol It's an important episode about an even more important topic. We have to learn from history, so we won't be doomed to repeat it. While I don't think that "The Pacific" is as good as BoB, I do hope you watch it. It will help round out your knowledge of the war, and when they finish "Masters of the Air", we'll be back in Europe, seeing a different aspect of the war against Germany. I can't wait for that to come out! I wish they'd do one for the Carrier war and focus on the Enterprise!

[@nickmitsialis]

Divorce by mail is an old thing: they call it getting 'The Dear John' letter.

[@thissailorja]

Now its "Jody".

[@nickmitsialis]

@@thissailorja Hell, Jody 'Cadences' have been around since...forever.

[@dougs7367]

I thought Dear John letters were between dating couples or maybe fiances.. not married couples.

[@nickmitsialis]

@@dougs7367 I think all of 'em. I think it might have gotten pretty common==people getting married on 'impulse' before shipping out.

[@EricPalmerBlog]

The excellent documentary series, World at War, has an episode on "The Final Solution" ( Genocide: 1941-1945 (20 of 26) ) which gives a good overview of this.

[@heathergibson2108]

The whole series is excellent.. recollections from people who were there .civilians and military..saw it when it first aired never forgot it ..

[@alexkull24]

After this episode other great movies that I must recommend is The Pianist and Schindler's List!!!

[@francisbartoszewski2284]

Absolutely, I'm shocked how few reactors have watched 'The Pianist'.

[@gccurry1]

both absolutely phenomenal films. I also recommend both after seeing they liked this so much

[@John57945]

I agree Schindler's list is a great movie but a much harder watch than this.

[@colinrattray816]

Totally agree with those 2 recommendations, you should definitely watch both of them hard to watch but so enlightening, I also recommend the boy in the striped pyjamas!

[@boyscouts83712]

Don't forget "The boy in the stripped pajamas"

[@RayPall]

"Wait until you see it." "See what?" "What a man can do to another man."

[@Rubicon2305]

You're absolutely right - in schools, they don't go over it enough. We were educated about the Holocaust when I was in 3rd grade and they didn't sugar coat anything. Actual photos and news reels from the actual camps, etc. Today, as I have raised my kids I realized early on that it was up to me, the parent, to educate them because the schools did not. They gloss over WWII and barely mention WWI in the text books and they didn't even incorporate the Holocaust into the curriculum (in a very sterile and brief way) until the 8th grade. Then it wasn't until 10th grade until they revisited the topic and had a few chapters on WWII. When the kids went on a school, end-of-year, field trip to D.C. the Holocaust museum was on the itinerary - and they had to have a "special meeting" to inform parents and kids to "brace themselves" for what they would see and learn. I was like, "are you f-ing kidding me!... you should have been EDUCATING them all along about this!" Fortunately, my kids were prepared. I had prepared them since they were little. Talking to them and teaching them what textbooks conveniently left out. This is why we have so many Holocaust Deniers today - it has become vogue to deny it ever happened. What we are seeing today is EXACTLY what General Eisenhower predicted when he ordered them to document everything - journal it, photograph it, film it ALL... "to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'"

[@auntdeen6314]

Anyone who stalks the BoB reactions and comment threads like I do will recognize my comment, but I feel the need to make it every time I see anything on this episode. The scene with Webster shouting at the retreating Germans is fucking BRILLIANT for the way it focuses on two men: Webster and Nixon. Webster yells angrily at the Germans and the camera cuts repeatedly to the stony face of Nixon riding in the Jeep behind him. They are the two most highly-educated men in Easy. If Easy Company has intellectuals, it’s these two. They have studied history and philosophy as grown men, not bored teenagers. And therefore, they are the two who take the widest view of the war. Where most of the rest of the guys have a very pragmatic view of the war, as a series of tasks to get through before they can go home, Webster and Nixon are the ones most likely to understand the waste and the futility of it. It boils over in Webster, who is normally so genial, and sits dark and bitter in Nixon, who is already on the ragged edge. And both men realize the pointlessness of getting angry about it. Webster is fluent in German, but his tirade is in English. He knows it won’t do any good. And Nixon never says a word. Just brilliant.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Well said and noticed about those two Ivy Leaguers and I would say based on the series that neither of the two even had that much wisdom on the field themselves, whatever their education. That somehow always seems to emanate more from Winters, of course, and tactically from Speirs. That’s what I love about that sequence montage in The Breaking Point, about who would leave Easy Company and they talk about Dike as one of those Ivy League pricks and Nixon pipes up, “oh god, one of those... “ Awesome moment! What struck me most was in beginning of the book by Ambrose, he mentioned Webster and his disdain for the fellow soldier’s lack of vocabulary with “f’in this, f’in that” on just about everything mundane. That’s why the phrase “you ignorant servile scum...” was for me a kind of nod to that aspect! And you’re right, how it flashes onto Nixon who himself is increasingly disillusioned.

[@benschultz1784]

The camp prisoners were played by cancer patients, many of whom didn't survive to see the episode air.

[@kyleshiflet9952]

Wow that's extremely heartbreaking

[@christopherpage2622]

But they knew how important it was and despite how unwell they were they wanted to do it

[@miketaylorID1]

Sad and very brave.

[@JojosCrazyChannel]

Watch “SCHINDLER’S LIST” afterwards! One of the greatest movies ever made! 🎥🍿

[@SweetLou0523]

@ nobody really is. I've seen it several times and it's still very difficult to watch.

[@electronichq974]

I was gonna say this too but it looks like Steven has already seen it from what he said during the afterthoughts.

[@Rocket1377]

I don't know if Nikki could handle that movie. It's almost like a documentary at times, incredibly realistic, and the Band of Brothers depiction of the concentration camps is mild by comparison.

[@MistyBryant]

When I was in high school, one of my teachers would have some of the survivors come in and talk to us about what they went through there. Hearing their stories was so heartbreaking. I literally cried listening to them talk about it. When I saw this episode, it made those stories even more real and I cried again.

[@ereini0n]

"On April 29 the company stopped for the night at Buchloe, in the foothills of the Alps, near Landsberg. Here they saw their first concentration camp. It was a work camp, not an extermination camp, one of the half-dozen or more that were a part of the Dachau complex. But although it was relatively small and designed to produce war goods, it was so horrible that it was impossible to fathom the enormity of the evil. Prisoners in their striped pajamas, three-quarters starved, by the thousands; corpses, little more than skeletons, by the hundreds." Stephen Ambrose, 'Band of Brothers'

[@didyouseethat9847]

We watched the scene with the concentration camp in Grade 12 social studies, and I was WRECKED by the end. It's brutal.

[@PianoMoverSmith1]

When the man mentions the woman's camp, which is where the children would be as well, is at the next railway stop his breakdown after might be one of the most devastating things seen on the tv ever

[@kylezucker4503]

easily one of the most impactful moments in the show

[@sams1117]

any show

[@skkhoo3017]

I'm 50yo and I still remember TO THIS DAY the day I visited Auschwitz concentration camp as a 10yo boy (as part of an educational school trip). I vomitted. I was so physically revolted, so repulsed and anguished by the haunting history that lingered so heavily ALL AROUND that camp. That one trip forever banished my childhood notions of "playing soldier", of "cool" political leaders, and instilled in my then-young mind of how hate can lead humans to do such inhuman things to one another. Thank you for your video and articulating the sadness and sorrow that we should all feel when faced with such things, even if they're scenes from a TV series.

[@lilychris811]

And this is why I always thank Band of Brothers' reactors and Schindler's List reactors when we get to this point ~ on behalf of my two uncles who fought the Nazis and on behalf of my other uncle who escaped the Holocaust and grew up to marry into our family ~ you are keeping their stories alive, and the lessons learned, so this terrible terrible thing might never happen again. I know how hard it is to watch, but in a way it is the least we can do, and our duty to those who lived through it. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for reacting to this ~ because you have, at least a thousand others have watched with you. That is meaningful, and important.