[3] While his family disguised their identity and went into hiding during World War II,[4] he joined the French resistance at the age of 17, along with his father and brother, and fought in Auvergne.

[5] Lanzmann was the chief editor of the journal Les Temps Modernes, founded by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and lecturer at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

Interviewees include the Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski and the American Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg.

When the film was released, the director also published the complete text, including in English translation, with introductions by Lanzmann and Simone de Beauvoir.

[8] Lanzmann also oftentimes pushed his subjects to extreme emotional limits to bring out the most authentic reactions for his audience.

Never forgetting the romance, he made a 2017 documentary entitled Napalm, as the nurse bore scars from American bombings during the Korean War.