Posted on May 22, 2021
'Final Account' explores the memories of Germans who lived through the Holocaust
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The "important" label can weigh heavily on a documentary, but the description applies to "Final Account," director Luke Holland's decade-long odyssey to capture and preserve the memories of Germans who lived through the Holocaust, acknowledging their complicity to varying degrees. While much has been done to chronicle survivors' stories, this sobering companion belongs on the shelf alongside them.
The film bears a dedication to Holland's murdered grandparents. The British filmmaker died last year, at the age of 71, adding a poignant coda to this extraordinary undertaking.
The documentary presents starkly shot interviews with elderly Germans, some of whom were civilians, while others served in the army, as camp guards and as Hitler Youth during the 1930s and '40s. Those discussions are garnished with chilling color video of children saluting a Swastika flag, or signs that translated read "Jews are not welcome here."
The interviews find a range of responses, with the participants sometimes contradicting themselves moments apart regarding their awareness at the time about what was happening. During one session with a group of what looks like nursing-home residents, when one pleads ignorance about the camps, another quickly follows by saying it was impossible not to know.
The film bears a dedication to Holland's murdered grandparents. The British filmmaker died last year, at the age of 71, adding a poignant coda to this extraordinary undertaking.
The documentary presents starkly shot interviews with elderly Germans, some of whom were civilians, while others served in the army, as camp guards and as Hitler Youth during the 1930s and '40s. Those discussions are garnished with chilling color video of children saluting a Swastika flag, or signs that translated read "Jews are not welcome here."
The interviews find a range of responses, with the participants sometimes contradicting themselves moments apart regarding their awareness at the time about what was happening. During one session with a group of what looks like nursing-home residents, when one pleads ignorance about the camps, another quickly follows by saying it was impossible not to know.
'Final Account' explores the memories of Germans who lived through the Holocaust
Posted from cnn.comPosted in these groups: Germany WWII World War TwoUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum Movies World History
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 3
Posted 3 y ago
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel "The conversations are never really confrontational, but the questions occasionally prove telling. When a woman says she was too young to have a reaction to the persecution of Jews prior to the war and the events of Kristallnacht, the off-camera interviewer replies, "Fourteen?"
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Posted 3 y ago
I spent almost 3 years in Germany, December 1965-September 1968 and made a point of getting out in the German society. I was able to discuss the War with many, but none would talk of this.
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Posted 3 y ago
Now let us compare that to the so called “equity” that Biden made an Executive order that all must follow.
Has anyone figured out that these ideas of segregation are being feed to us right now? And what did we do to the leaders and solders of that country, after WWII?
Has anyone figured out that these ideas of segregation are being feed to us right now? And what did we do to the leaders and solders of that country, after WWII?
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