History Hit has announced the release of Auschwitz: The Evolution of Terror, a new documentary presented by Dr James Bulgin (pictured), head of public history at Imperial War Museums.
Releasing on Monday January 26 to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday January 27, the film offers a contextualised examination of how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp into the deadliest extermination centre operated by Nazi Germany.
Filmed with rare access to the Auschwitz site, Auschwitz: The Evolution of Terror examines the physical and administrative development of the camp through the spaces where this history unfolded. The documentary takes a ground-level approach, using the surviving structures of the camp to show how mass murder was organised and expanded over time.
The film begins in Block 3, where Zyklon B (hydrogen cyanide-based poisonous gas) was first stored, before moving to Block 11, the site of its first use against prisoners in 1941. From there, Dr Bulgin explores the camp’s earliest gas chamber before travelling to Birkenau, where four purpose-built extermination facilities would later become central to the Holocaust.
Alongside this examination of the camp’s infrastructure, the documentary explores the lived experience of Auschwitz’s earliest prisoners, examining where they slept, what they were given to eat and how they endured daily life under conditions of extreme brutality. In parallel, Bulgin investigates those responsible for the camp’s development and operation, from guards to the commandant, charting their roles in Auschwitz’s transformation and their fates following the Allied victory at the end of the Second World War.
Throughout the film, Bulgin is joined by historians and experts, whose contributions provide context and reinforce the importance of understanding Auschwitz not as a static symbol, but as a site that evolved through human decisions, structures, and systems.
“Though unsurprisingly I’ve been to Auschwitz on a number of occasions, the access to people and places secured by History Hit in the creation of this documentary was genuinely revelatory,” said Bulgin. “Talking to the experts who have made the study of the camp their life’s work was humbling, enlightening and thought-provoking. Walking around spaces – inaccessible to the general public – that have been left as they were since the end of the war offered an unfiltered authenticity which was both sobering and eerily elucidating.”
Dan Snow, founder and creative director of History Hit, added: “What we’ve managed to achieve in this documentary, alongside James, is truly groundbreaking. From the real locations where these crimes took place, we trace the evolution of Auschwitz, from its beginnings to its transformation into the horrific killing machine it became. We were granted unprecedented access to the sites where this unspeakable history unfolded. These locations aren’t just places on a map; they are the silent witnesses to one of the darkest chapters of human history.”
Auschwitz: The Evolution of Terror is available to stream on History Hit’s streaming service and YouTube channel, alongside the platform’s library of original documentaries, interviews, and podcasts. History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, an All3Media company.
