The Nazi Officer's Wife

Edith Hahn, a Jewish girl who assumed the identity of a gentile in Vienna after the Anschluss of 1938 and eventually married Werner Vetter, a Nazi supporter drafted into the Wehrmacht in the closing years of the war, is the subject of The Nazi Officer's Wife, based on Hahn's bestselling book. Featuring archival footage and still photos, complemented by extensive excerpts from interviews with Hahn and her daughter Angela, portions of Edith's memoirs read by Julia Ormond, and linking narration by Susan Sarandon, the film is very conscientiously put together by Liz Garbus and Rory Kennedy, but it oddly doesn't generate much emotional resonance. Even as potentially overwhelming an episode as Angela's birth in a Nazi-run hospital is treated almost decorously, emphasizing the irony of the situation rather than its underlying horror (in most cases, a cooler approach is preferable to an overtly manipulative one, but it's arguable that in instances such as this one, the balance goes too far in the wrong direction). Produced for A&E, The Nazi Officer's Wife is an informative documentary about a fascinating subject, but it's not as compelling as it should have been. A strong optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)