At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.
- Won 2 Primetime Emmys
- 7 wins & 21 nominations total
- Maid
- (as Claire Bullus)
- Adjutant 1
- (as Ross O'Hennessey)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSince detailed records of the Wannsee Conference did not survive World War II, minor details of the movie (such as the seating arrangement at the conference table, what was actually served for lunch, and who was wearing a uniform compared to who wasn't) were totally up to the guess of the producers, and not based on any historical evidence. The producers and writer did have access to more primary material than it might seem at first. During his trial in Israel, Adolf Eichmann provided many details about the subject of the movie, even down to specific conversations, the general tone of the meeting, and other details. In particular, it's worth noting that a good bit of the dialogue in the movie is lifted verbatim from relevant memos and speeches by Nazi officials that were preserved, are part of the historical record, and cited by numerous sources. Many specific locutions used by the men in the movie can be found as cited, for instance, in Gitta Sereny's book "Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth" as well as other sources. The single-page, neutered summary of the meeting that survived in the files of the German Foreign Office is far from the only primary source used by the filmmakers.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the film, place cards are being made using the traditional Germanic Gothic, or "Fraktur" font. Although the font was initially used by the Nazis, it was claimed in 1941 to be "Judenlettern" (Jewish letters) by Martin Bormann himself, who banned its use. The movie takes place in 1942.
- Quotes
Müller: Perhaps the judge has a special love for them?
Klopfer: [mutters appreciatively] Yes, yes a special love for them... very good...
Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart: For whom? For Jews? Wonderful, you don't have my credentials. Forgive me, from your uniform I can infer that you're shallow, ignorant and naive about the Jews. Your line, what the party rants on about is how inferior they are, some-some-some sub-species, and I keep saying how wrong that is! They are sublimely clever. And they are intelligent as well. My indictments to that race are stronger and heavier because they are real, not uneducated ideology. They are arrogant and self-obsessed and calculating and reject the Christ and I will not have them pollute German blood!
General Reinhard Heydrich: [tries to calm Stuckart down] Please, Doctor...
Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart: He doesn't understand! And neither do his people. Deal with the reality of the Jew and the world will applaud us. Treat them as imaginary phantoms, evil in human fantasies, and the world would have justified contempt for us! To kill them casually without regard for the law martyrs them, which will be their victory! Sterilization recognizes them as a part of our species but prevents them from being a part of our race. They'll disappear soon enough. And we will have acted in defense of our race and of our species and by the law! This fellow mentioned the law for the protection of German blood, *I wrote that law*! When you have my credentials then we'll talk about who loves the Jews and who hates them. Pigs don't know how to hate. I know, too, that when it comes to the half-mixed, that to kill them abandons that half of their blood which is German.
Klopfer: I'll remember you.
Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart: You should. I'm very well known.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2001)
- SoundtracksString Quintet in C Major', D.956: Adagio
Written by Franz Schubert
Performed by Ensemble Villa Musica
courtesy of Naxos of America
by arrangement with Source Q
This film is the best World War II era film i have ever seen, and one of the best movies i have seen, period. The cast is mostly unknown, but out-act any all-star cast Hollywood has ever produced. Kenneth Branaugh delivers an excellent performance as Heydrich, the head of the table at the meeting. He threatens people with a smile on his face, and barely bats an eye while speaking of killing thousands of people. Stanley Tucci is also great as the party-planner Eichmann, who set up the entire meeting, from the venue to the food to the topics. The way he counts the number of Jews that can be exterminated in a a given period of time is downright creepy. The cast also includes great turns by Colin Firth, a lawyer and professor who thinks the systematic slaughter of the Jews is bad for Germany's future, and Ian McNiece, who plays a hateful and witty official.
The dialogue is smart, funny, and chilling, and contains some jabs at all sides of the biggest war in Earth's history. This is a great movie to show in a history class, before watching a bunch of war movies, or if you just have an interest in the war. It teaches a lot more about the time than Saving Private Ryan (great movie too, but really one-sided), and features the best acting this side of the Godfather.---9/10
- Sfpsycho415
- Feb 22, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Konspirationen
- Filming locations
- Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, Am Grossen Wannsee 56-58, Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany(Conference Building)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1