PICK OF DIGITAL & ON DEMAND TV THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST, 10PM, BBC4

THE king of documentaries, Ken Burns, is behind this challenging three-part, six-hour series. It’s no easy watch, grappling with the ideological and very real darkness that sent millions of Jews to their deaths during the Second World War. The starting point is the Statue of Liberty and what it stood for, at a time when a reaction to decades of open borders saw the passing of stricter immigration laws. What follows is an unflinching examination of American action — and inaction — while in Europe, the Jews faced one of the greatest humanitarian crises of all time. The year is 1938, and while the attention of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured) and fellow heads of state was increasingly drawn to the emerging refugee crisis, there was no concerted response, and much of the U.S. public remained swayed by the isolationist argument. In next week’s instalment, the stakes are raised in the wake of Kristallnacht. Then, with war raging in Europe in 1941, the U.S. remains neutral as the horrors of the Holocaust begin in secret.