Final Account

I've watched and read a lot of stuff about The Holocaust and the Nazis, yet whenever I approach some new material, it's always with the same thought 'It can't happen again though can it'. The sad reality is antisemitism is on the rise again, certainly in the UK. Which is what makes documentaries like this vital. What makes this a little different from many on the subject is rather than focusing on debunking deniers or being solely voiced by survivors. It relies on those who participated on the Nazi side. The last living generation of the third reich... and their families. Most are products of the Hitler Youth program. They talk of liking the uniform, feeling included, the social engagement, the belonging to a group. Singing! Old men and women now, they still recall the lyrics with an obvious fondness. Some were just civilians, but nearly all admit to knowing what was happening. Even hiding SS officers when the camps were liberated... and chuckling about it! It feels like a lot of people making a lot of excuses. The pressure put on them from Hitler, the social engineering they were subjected to, the fear. There's not a lot of remorse. They talk as they would've at the time and it's clear that many haven't truly reevaluated or have an intention to. Some say they didn't know about the concentration camps, others admit it was clear something was going on, even if they weren't aware of the full extent. "These heroes you hope to find, there aren't many of them. We were scared". Many talk in terms of us and them. They see themselves as Germans. Not Nazis. The Jews a separate entity in the events. Not fellow humans. There's certainly no suggestion they feel any responsibility. Even those who grew up and worked as part of the regime, as bookkeepers, as guards. The only truly enlightened voice is that of filmmaker Luke Holland, who asks the questions we're all asking. 'Who reported the Jews hiding in your barn?', 'Did you know what was happening in the camps?', 'Would you have killed those Jews?'. The answers are always the ones you don't want to hear. There's a ridiculous denial about the whole thing. They knew what was happening. They did nothing. Although the stories are told with a contemplating tone, they're matter of fact. This would be even more troublesome viewing but for the way this documentary is assembled. The voices are intercut with a mix of archive and present day footage of the places spoken of. This along with text illustrating the numbers of people lost and the sombre strings of the score, make this necessarily bleak. Some admit their guilt, but hide behind semantics. Others openly stand by Hitler. It's shocking. It should be. These people should be looked upon as criminals. If they're too old and indoctrinated to feel the shame they should, it's for future generations to carry. Never forget. It can't happen again.

This is yet another documentary about The Holocaust (or The Shoah) but VERY different from all or most of the rest that exist. This one isn't about before, during or right after the event. This one is held in this century, interviewing the few people left that where there all those decades ago. It goes deep into how young people were compelled to be part of the Nazi party and how they were made not to care what was happening to the Jews all around them. One may call it the behind the scenes psyche of Hitler's army, which was made to be very powerful and compelling for anyone to at least consider joining them.

It's shocking to hear that, in the 21st century, some people still deny part or all of this time in history but, personally, made me think about where I would've stood had I been in the shoes of those young people. I know most educated people, including myself, want to believe they would have been on the side defending the Jews but after watching this, it's not so clear to me anymore.

The only thing I would have done differently or added is the explanation of all the terms that are mentioned but aren't translated: Mein Kampf, Kristallnacht, different titles of people, etc.

If you want to understand the motivation of middle-ranking perpetrators of the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes then this is an accessible route. An invaluable educational resource which deserves to be seen widely.

The masses of people can commit horrific atrocities when such acts reach a level of acceptability. Who among us has the courage to say no? The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately evil...

How did the Holocaust happen? People are not born evil, but somehow most of the population of Germany either contributed directly to acts of mass murder, or denied it was happening. The total defeat of the Nazis led much of the postwar population to condemn their country's past; but also to deny their own roles in it. In Luke Holland's film, he speaks to many elderly Germans about what happened. The less interesting part is where he asks them to admit their own guilt; many still deny it, but it seems to me that this is almost inevitable: if his interviewees all said "yes, I am effectively a murderer", it would be surprising but not that illuminating. Much more interesting than trying to make them take responsibility is where they open up and talk about what happened, and how it could have done so. One has to filter their answers through the lens of self-denial, but it's still worthwhile to hear their stories; and to think, not just in another world that "this could have happened to us" but "we could have done it to them". Soon there will be no living memory; but if we forget, it could easily happen again.