Accountant of Auschwitz, The

Synopsis: Documentary about 94-year-old former German SS officer Oskar Gröning, nicknamed "The Accountant of Auschwitz", who goes on trial in his home country, charged with complicity in the murder of 300,000 Jews at Auschwitz in 1944. The frail old man makes headlines around the world as he takes the stand to face his former victims. Out of the 6,500 SS guards at Auschwitz, only 49 were prosecuted in West Germany. After the war, the country wanted to forget the past and move on. Many of the lawyers and judges writing the new legal code were themselves former Nazis. Now, 70 years later, a new generation of lawyers armed with a change in legal thinking opened-up a new wave of investigations against Nazi guards. Most have perished, but not Gröning, who at age 21, collected the stolen loot of prisoners as they were carted off trains at Auschwitz.
The documentary is a race against time to prosecute the last living Nazi war criminal before it’s too late. Bringing war criminals to justice asks fundamental moral question. From Nuremberg to the modern alt-right, the film constructs a reminder that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
Language: English (United States)
Country: United States
Year of release: 2019
Year of production: 2018
Subjects: German studies; History; Law
Keywords: Jews; lawyers; Nazi Germany; Trials

Name: Signature Entertainment
Email: info@signature-entertainment.co.uk
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UK

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British Universities Film & Video Council