World War II was one of the most impactful wars in history, and as such, there have been countless documentaries about the leadup, the war itself, and the fallout.
But this one is different: it tracks down people who were alive and involved in pre-war Germany around Kristallnacht and asks them how they felt about the times and how they feel about those times now.
One would instantly expect they would all express remorse that they were led astray by a deceitful demagogue, that it was horrible and evil in retrospect. And to be sure, some of them do. But a surprising number of them do not.
None of those outright say the Holocaust was a GOOD thing, but they are evasive: they keep claiming that they had no idea it was going on. While they wax nostalgic about the excitement of being part of Nazism, which they saw as a nationwide movement that empowered their nation, they also often make asides showing their bigotry towards Jews is still very much alive 70 years later. While few of them saw the war as a happy memory, almost all of them see the pre-war Germany as a golden age and Hitler as a fine leader. It's disturbing.
The teens and young adults involved WWII will not be around much longer. That is why it is important to capture these kind of interviews to show that not only did the Holocaust happen, but the complicity with it was as well.
But this one is different: it tracks down people who were alive and involved in pre-war Germany around Kristallnacht and asks them how they felt about the times and how they feel about those times now.
One would instantly expect they would all express remorse that they were led astray by a deceitful demagogue, that it was horrible and evil in retrospect. And to be sure, some of them do. But a surprising number of them do not.
None of those outright say the Holocaust was a GOOD thing, but they are evasive: they keep claiming that they had no idea it was going on. While they wax nostalgic about the excitement of being part of Nazism, which they saw as a nationwide movement that empowered their nation, they also often make asides showing their bigotry towards Jews is still very much alive 70 years later. While few of them saw the war as a happy memory, almost all of them see the pre-war Germany as a golden age and Hitler as a fine leader. It's disturbing.
The teens and young adults involved WWII will not be around much longer. That is why it is important to capture these kind of interviews to show that not only did the Holocaust happen, but the complicity with it was as well.