Yahrzeit

Season 5, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

A man is murdered at an auction selling jewelry and the evidence leads the team to investigating crimes committed during the Holocaust. Mac learns about the role his father played in World War II.
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Fan Episode Reviews (23)

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  • Painful

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By pirateking193, Jan 23, 2012 Report Abuse
    Overall a good episode; a little slow at times but ultimately phenomenal. The highlight was Ed Asner's performance. I knew going in what he truly was, but I was still impressed by how he was able to effortlessly portray the noble survivor and the heartless butcher, and the reveal scene where he finally drops the mask was chilling. Another thing I realized is when he references the brooch as someone's prize possession......and the reveal later about Elsa Schnitzer having the same made Klaus more vile. The scene with the survivor who Mac's father saved was genuinely touching, and the scene where Hannah finally has closure was also good.moreless

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    0 0

  • Playing the same old story, writing the same old, boring story to get cheaper points. "CSI The Schindler's List Remake" was so political but not for the people who lost their lives, but it was there for the scores. It touched the hearts with the Holocaustmoreless

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By iva66, May 01, 2011 Report Abuse
    The NY series is the best ,out of three. Miami is a tongue in the cheek, CSI was struggling (That's why they brought a big name to the show probably). CSI NY characters are diverse and noble. Altough they try their best with that; they exagerated the emotional part this time. They played the cheapest card with the new President elected. People are more labeled and more open with this new political fashion. It's easier to get the sympathy votes (Just like what happened here...) This has nothing to do with the holocaust. I do respect the peoples life and what happened back then but this episode was about taking the esaier path. Don't they hate when they are used for racial "Stuff". This episode had no surprises, no CSI actions. They could name this episode "CSI The Schindler's List Remake". The writers should be ashamed of themselves.moreless

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    3 18

  • Wow

    10
    "Perfect"
    By karlmeszaros, Jan 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    It's hard to know how to begin to write something about such an amazing episode. This is one of the most powerful and poignant shows I have ever seen on TV from any show and is probably my favorite CSI:NY one. There have been so many great episodes this season, but I think this one is the best. There were so many difficult and unspeakably horrifying evils committed by the Nazis that it is impossible to calculate the cost to life. This episode touches the heart with both the horror of an evil regime as well as the powerful messages of hope, love and faith, which win in the end.

    From the pure evil of "we should have killed them all" to the faith restoring "nothing ever tasted so good," the acting and writing in this episode are worthy of an Emmy nomination. This is one of those shows that is impossible to capture in words and needs to be watched to truly be apprecaited.moreless

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    3 2

  • This episode was very personal to me. And also my family (my grandfather was in the camp).I've watched many movies and documentaries regarding this subject, but i don't recall any of them being full of tragedy and yet full of hope at the same time.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Delgada, Sep 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    History of the camps is a part of my country history. My family history.I'm not ashamed to say I cried while watching this episode. Here in Poland Nazis build more than one camp. Just in Auschwitz they killed over 1,5 million Polish citizens (both Jews and catholics). When you visit the Museum in the Auschwitz it's somenthing you'll never forget. A place that you-must-see-but-you-never-want-to-visit-again type. I tought that this episode is special because it tells the story of the victims and their killers, but not like any documentary would do (emotionless). On the contrary - it's full of emotions - good and bad ones. It shows us what horrid thngs people are able to do to each other, but also how a few acts of kindeness can bring our souls back together. For that I'm gratefull to the crew and cast of CSI:NY. It was trully briliant episode. Written with knowledge of the subject and full of understanding. Well directed. Beautifull acting by both Gary Sinise and Edward Asner. And very touching music by Bill Brown.moreless

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    4 1

  • This is exactly what a show should do with its audience-educate and evoke feelings. Beautifully written and delivered. Heartbreaking.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By supercin721, Sep 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    Television shows are meant to entertain but, given their wide range of influence, it's wonderful when they take the chance to enlighten. This episode certainly did. An extremely well-written tale takes from a Neo-Nazi murder victim to a self-hating/hiding German Nazi/faux Holocaust survivor, from 2009 Holocaust relics being auctioned off to 1942-1945 when millions, MILLIONS, were rounded up like cattle to simply die, to be pillaged and humiliated, to be murdered. To tell this story, the show highlights terrifying reenactments, images, and stories. But this sadness isn't the only message to permeate through the screen. We learn that Mac Taylor's father was a soldier who carried an Auschwitz survivor, on his back, to safety. We learn that Sheldon's uncle preached peace and tolerance, much like the figure of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Though Sheldon doesn't take the bait, Danny certainly does, doing what all the viewers wanted to do, taking down a Neo-Nazi witness after some crude and disgusting remarks.
    It's truly a great episode with beautiful shots and heartwarming moments. Well done.moreless

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    7 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: Abraham Klein uses Yiddish, primarily spoken by Eastern Europeans and which is considered as a lower language by Germans of that generation.

      Edit
    • Michael Elgers: The fool used to ass dial me all the time. I thought he was trying to reach me, but then I realized what was going on so the third call I just let it go to voicemail. Ass Dialing" is a term used in popular culture to refer to phone calls made by someone carrying their phone in a back pocket or other place where the buttons get pushed accidentally. Edit
    • Esther Schnitzler's brooch was sold for over $300,000 at the jewellery auction. Edit

  • Notes

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    • Scott Cohen, who plays Aaron Lesnick, also appears in the C.S.I. episode Doctor Who. Meagan Tandy, who plays Model #1, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode Last Stand. Edit
    • According to Hill Harper, Peter Lenkov (one of the writers of the show and of this episode) set up a viewing session of Yahrzeit at his house that included the main cast and also Ed Asner. They watched it in real time together with the audience and it was a first. Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Turkey: June 15, 2009 on CNBC-e. Spain: June 23, 2009 on AXN. Czech Republic: July 29, 2009 on AXN. Brazil: July 2, 2009 on AXN. The Netherlands: November 9, 2009 on RTL4. Norway: November 11, 2009 on TVNorge. Germany: February 15, 2010 on Vox. Slovakia: March 6, 2010 on JOJ. Finland: July 7, 2010 on MTV3. New Zealand: August 28, 2010 on TV3. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Mac: Anyone hear a gunshot? Flack: Everyone I spoke to said this room was in a feeding frenzy. The only thing they heard was the sound of some rich guy getting ready to dump 600 large on a necklace. Hawkes: On a piece of jewelry? Mac: Guess some people are recession-proof. Edit
    • Mac: I appreciate you picking up some of the slack when Hawkes goes out of town. Adam: Oh yeah, well, I'm in between girlfriends at the moment, so I got a lot of time on my hands. (Mac gives him a look) Adam: Oh right, that's too much information. Edit
    • Danny: A guy who works on Madison Avenue associating with a low-life skinhead? Mac: Maybe it's less an association and more an affiliation. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Adam: Men's leather shoes, size nine, taken in Treblinka. Child's doll, fair condition. Found buried with bodies in Dachau. $6,500? Dachau concentration camp was opened in March 1933 some 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Munich. It is estimated to have housed over 200,000 prisoners from which over 35,000 died by the time of its liberation on April 29th, 1945. Treblinka was an extermination camp in occupied Poland where between 700,000 and 900,000 people were killed between July 1942 and October 1943. Edit
    • Mac: From 1941 till 1943, you were a member of Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth existed from 1922 to 1945 as an organization of the Nazi Party for young and teenage boys. For girls, there was the BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädels / Unit of German Girls). The paramilitary unit of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) was called SA (Sturm Abteilung / Storm Divison). Edit
    • Abraham Klein: In 1942, I was living in the Warsaw Ghetto. Nazi Governor-General Hans Frank established the Warsaw Ghetto on October 16, 1940. It had an estimated population of 440,000 people and almost all of them died out of disease, starvation or by deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp. Edit

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