The town of Rechnitz, nestled on the Austrian/Hungarian border, was the site for one of the last evils the Nazis would perpetrate, ten days before the end of World War II. In a final frenzy of alcohol-abetted hatred, a group of German and Austrian Nazis forced 180 Hungarian Jews to dig their own graves, then shot them. In other words, the unspeakable happened, and those who want to speak about it are hard to come by. Wall of Silence documents the quest of a few to locate the mass grave and provide a proper burial, but its real purpose is to expose the barricade of complicit silence surrounding the executions. As viewers watch and listen to a number of interviewees whose palpable fear and righteousness strongly suggests that they know but won't tell, it begins to seem as if the very earth is keeping secrets. The narrative flashes from interview to interview, where interviewees are willing to describe the screaming they heard that night but can say no more. Naturally the viewer longs for closure, and at several points in the film the truth seems near, but, ultimately, the mystery of those 180 deaths continues. An unblinking study of a small town atrocity and its attendant cover-up. Recommended for general collections. (A. Laker)
Wall Of Silence (Totschweigen)
(1995) 58 min. $89.95. Alden Films. PPR. Color cover. (In German with English subtitles). Vol. 11, Issue 1
Wall Of Silence (Totschweigen)
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: