American soldier Stuart Schulberg was 23 years old and his older brother Budd 31 when they were tasked with searching, amongst the ruins of Germany, for incriminating footage commissioned by the Nazis themselves. The accused were to be convicted and sentenced with the help of the very material they themselves had produced. This soon became a race against time however, as before the Americans could rescue the propaganda films the archives were often burned down, presumably in an attempt to destroy the incriminating material. And yet nevertheless, during the trials they managed to present two longer finds. Stuart Schulberg was also commissioned to make a film about the Nuremberg trials. When the film, entitled "Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today", was finally completed in 1948, and that after overcoming the many hindrances and conditions imposed by the US War Department, it only screened briefly in Germany as an educational film. In America the theatrical release was cancelled; during the Cold War, the Marshall Plan became more important than remembering Nazi atrocities. French documentary filmmaker Jean-Christophe Klotz once again sets off on a search for clues as he tries to find out how exactly the material was obtained at the time, why the resulting film was kept under lock and key and also reflects on the obligations documentary filmmakers have towards posterity.
Text: Jörg Taszman
English: Peter Rickerby
Guests
On 13.6, 19:00 Filmkunst66, director Jean-Christophe Klotz will be our guest for a Q&A following the screening.
