Nuremberg: The Nazis Facing Their Crimes

The International Military Tribunal held in Nuremberg, Germany from 1945-46 was unprecedented for the manner in which the military and political leaders of a war-defeated nation were publicly prosecuted by the successful adversaries. But, at the same time, the depth and scope of the war crimes committed by the Nazi hierarchy were without precedent in the history of civilization. In the three-and-a-half hour documentary Nuremberg: The Nazis Facing Their Crimes, French filmmaker Christian Delage assembles a wealth of courtroom footage from the Nuremberg Trials (including restored footage shot under John Ford's supervision), reconstructing the trials with unparalleled intensity coupled with solemn narration by Christopher Plummer. Among the most jolting sequences are those featuring prosecutors and judges grilling the architects of the Final Solution, who later watch with stony indifference while Holocaust survivors present painfully poignant testimony on the barbarism and cruelty of the Nazi genocide. DVD extras include three rarely seen documentaries: two American films from 1945—“That Justice Be Done” and “Nazi Concentration Camps”—and the Soviet title “The Atrocities Committed by the German-Fascists in the USSR.” An informative 12-page booklet containing bibliographic references and more is also included. An excellent addition to the wealth of audiovisual material on World War II and its aftermath, this powerful film is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)