Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
Although it's not easy to watch, I recommend The Commandant's Shadow (2024, PG-13, produced and directed by Daniela Völker, streaming on HBO Max).
Last year's Academy Award winning The Zone of Interest introduced viewers to Auschwitz concentration camp commander Rudolf Höss and his family, who lived quite the pleasant life right next door to Höss's workplace, where he planned and carried out the "extermination" of at least a million Jews and other human beings judged to be less than by the Third Reich.
In this documentary, Höss's son, 87 year old Hans Jürgen Höss, recalls their life at Auschwitz as an idyll with their beloved father, whom he believed to have no real responsibility for the suffering and deaths at the camp, which he and his siblings believed at the time to be a prison that their father ran. He recalls that once a prisoner was shot along the wall of their home for trying to escape––nothing more happened to the people in the camp.
However, Höss undertakes a journey toward knowledge and responsibility with the filmmakers and his son, a pastor. The film also features Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who survived Auschwitz because the camp orchestra needed a cellist. At age 99, Lasker-Wallfisch's memories of the suffering remain vivid, yet she pushed them aside for the practicalities of life and testified at the trials of some of her Nazi oppressors. She is accompanied by her daughter, a psychoanalyst.
In other news, The Little Pump That Could almost had the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby out of our back yard when we had torrential downpours the last couple of days. Princess loves flying through the even deeper than usual waters of Lake Junebug, and the pump is hard at work.
Tonight is the debate. I'll be watching and rooting for Vice President Kamala Harris, who will have to bear up under the insults and idiocy of her opponent. I will
💙💙💙💙💙VOTE BLUE 💙💙💙💙💙
and encourage you to cast your vote in favor of democracy, the Constitution, and living in a decent world without a dictator on day one or any other day.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I have not yet been able to bring myself to watch "The Zone of Interest" movie. It can take me years to build up my reserves to watch any Holocaust movie or documentary. For example, it took me 10 years before I could watch "Schindler's List." Once I do watch the movie, though, I will undoubtedly seek out the documentary right away. It sounds excellent.
ReplyDeleteI understand. It also took me 10 years (or maybe a little longer) before I could watch Schindler's List.
DeleteJust added this to my watchlist.
ReplyDeleteI will be watching the debate tonight, too. :) Have already mailed off my application for a mail-in ballot.
I have the debate on right now. trump is speaking in--mostly--complete sentences for a change, but of course he's lying non-stop.
DeleteI have heard of this movie but as the daughter of a German Jew I don't think I could watch it. Living an idyllic life next door? Shudder. I will also be watching the debate. And hoping. So much.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for supporting us in our battle against trump. Kamala Harris represents hope and compassion.
DeleteJanie, I am going to watch the debate tonight too, but it makes me extremely nervous. I want Harris to do well as I did Biden when he debated that moron back in June. Let's hope that she does well and turns the tide.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching the debate now, Michael. About 40 minutes remains. Vice President Harris is doing well and she's debunking trump's allegations.
DeleteSorry Hans Jürgen Höss; you may not have known it at the time, but you knew it soon after the war ended.
ReplyDeleteDaddy was not an evil pig of a man; sorry.
xoxo
Listening to Hans and his sister talk about how wonderful their father was is sickening. They also talk about the way their mother suffered after the war because she had to bring up 5 kids with no husband . Tough shit.
DeleteEvery sane person in Canada is rooting for Kamala.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love our Canadian friends. Thank you.
DeleteThank you for the recommendation, I added it to my watch list. Humans never cease to amaze, and mostly not in good ways.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad, isn't it?
DeleteI watched The Zone of Interest and will deffinitely add this to my watch list.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to have been well researched--something I appreciate.
Delete