Narrated by Liev Schreiber (Defiance), The Quiet Village is a documentary film that uncovers the untold story of Kulmhof — the first extermination camp established by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. Between 1941 and 1945, at least 152,000 people, mainly Polish Jews, were murdered there in gas vans by the SS and German Police. Only seven people escaped the camp, and six survived the war. The Quiet Village is a story of humanity and remembrance, presenting a confronting look at one of the darkest chapters in human history.

About

Situated in a small Polish village called Chelmno, Kulmhof was established by the Nazi regime to carry out the murder of Jews in the so-called Warthegau — the territory of Western Poland annexed by Hitler’s Reich. This included Jews in the Lodz ghetto, the second largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-controlled Europe, where more than 160,000 Jews were confined. Kulmhof was created by SS functionary, Herbert Lange, who decided on using specially-constructed mobile gas vans — in which carbon monoxide exhaust fumes were routed into a rear sealed compartment. The gas vans were built in Berlin and shipped to Chelmno village. Within weeks, the village and surrounding forests transformed into a place of unspeakable horror and tragedy, largely forgotten in the decades following the war.The Quiet Village seeks to illuminate this overlooked chapter of the Holocaust for a new generation — presenting a groundbreaking look at the Holocaust through the lens of one camp. The Quiet Village explores the tragedy through the eyes the six survivors, the perpetrators who operated the camp, and the bystanders who watched the events unfold.

The Quiet Village features interviews filmed across five countries and narration by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber. The documentary also features the work of several renowned actors, including Thomas Arnold (War Horse), Ben Posener (V for Vendetta), and Stefan Baumecker (Berlin Blues) who lend their voices to several significant characters in the narrative.

The Quiet Village is directed by Ashton Gleckman, co-written by Ashton Gleckman and Samantha Maynard (Kennedy), and produced in association with the Academy award-winning production company, RadicalMedia (The Fog of War) and the T4 Association (Research of Nazi War Crimes) in Berlin, Germany. The film is executive produced by Jon Kamen (Hamilton), Adam Benzine (Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah), historian Michael Berenbaum (One Survivor Remembers, The Gerda Weissmann Klein Story), and Cameron Munro, author of the landmark study Engineered for Mass Murder: The Nazi Gas Vans 1939-1945.