Simon Schama's documentary, titled "The Road to Auschwitz" in the UK and "Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On" for its US broadcast and streaming release, won the Outstanding Historical Documentary award at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2026 on Thursday. Accepting the honor, Schama, the historian and writer of the film, remarked, "Sometimes you wish you didn't have to make a film about the worst that human beings can do to other human beings, but that's going on a lot right now. The Holocaust needs to be remembered as if we were ourselves trapped by it. And we tried in this film to bring people into the centre of this abysmal dismay and cruelty."
Earlier this month, the documentary also secured the BAFTA for Best Specialist Factual, marking Schama's first BAFTA win in his extensive career. Critics have hailed it as his most personal and unflinching work to date. Directed by Hugo Macgregor and produced by Jyoti Mehta, the film delves into Schama's deeply personal connection to Holocaust history. Mehta shared, "Winning just one of these awards (BAFTA and Emmy) is a special honour, but for the project to have won both shows the sheer emotional power of this film. That comes from our team's guiding mission – to not shy away from the horror and to see it from the perspective of the victims, many of whom used their agency to document what was happening. At a time of rising Holocaust denial, it is important to remind the world of their words." In an interview, Mehta discussed the making of the project.
Simon Travelled Across Europe to Explore How the Holocaust Was a European-Wide Crime of Complicity
Produced by Oxford Films for the BBC, the documentary aired in 2025, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The BAFTA nominees included line producer Venita Singh-Warner, a British-Indian who managed the production. Schama had deliberately avoided visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau despite a long career documenting Jewish history, but eventually felt compelled to confront the enormity of the Holocaust and the catastrophe endured by its victims. Mehta worked closely with the director to select the sites Schama would visit on his journey to Auschwitz. The producer further explained that Schama travelled across Europe to demonstrate how the Holocaust was far more than a Nazi obsession confined to gas chambers; it was a European-wide crime of complicity. His itinerary included Lithuania, Poland, and the Netherlands, before finally confronting Auschwitz.
Simon Schama Leaned Into an Array of Diaries and Archives
Discussing the documentary's creation, Mehta said, "Schama leaned into an array of remarkable diaries and archives that document resistance and a commitment to documenting history as it was unravelling. In doing so, the audience gets to know some of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust." She recounted one of the most emotional moments during filming: "Simon met Marian Turski (97), a Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to ensuring the world understood what happened – and how evil comes 'step by step'. He provided the film with one of his last interviews, and passed away during the editing of the film – a poignant reminder of how fast first-hand testimony of this history is fading away. Sitting in that interview room was one of the most chilling yet moving moments of my entire career."
