Had this documentary only been about Veit Harland and his infamous film "Jud Süß", it would have been well worth seeing. However, the film goes one step further--and that makes it such a memorable film.
"Jud Süß" was a virulent anti-Jewish propaganda sponsored by the Nazis and shown throughout Germany and occupied Europe. Its aim was to galvanize the populace against the Jews and thereby make it easier to exterminate them. This film shows a few clips from this film and the first part is a biography about the director, Veit Harlan. It talks about his life and career before making this film as well as after--and especially about the repercussions in his life following the war because of his pro-Nazi work.
All this is very interesting. However, what makes the film much more interesting is that the people who made the documentary were able to assemble so many family members to talk about Veit and his work. His surviving children and grandchildren are interviewed and their reactions are varied and extremely interesting. Some, such as one of his sons, were very close-mouthed--refusing to say anything against their father. However, this was the exception to the rule. Most seemed open to talk and what really fascinated me were the lengths to which several of them went to change their lives in an attempt to undo or make recompense for Veit's actions. Two daughters married Jewish men, a son married a Jewish woman. This same son went from the far-right fascism to an ardent anti-fascist--even ultimately embracing communism! And his grandkids weren't exempt from the impact of Veit's life upon them--with one granddaughter now living in France and dealing with strong feelings of guilt and shame. Many more interesting interviews and personalities are in this film--and it's filled with wonderful psychological portraits that would merit re-watching. Exceptional and truly fascinating.
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