'Final Account' explores the memories of Germans who lived through the Holocaust

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.