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, as so eloquently stated by previous posters, is quite simply a cautionary tale for all of humanity. I have seen the film several times on HBO, and whenever it comes on, I feel compelled to drop what I'm doing and watch, again transfixed -- at the ability of our human brains to rationalize and deny even in the face of undebatable truths.
Any honest person watching the film must ask himself -- How would I respond if I were at that table? How would I respond if I were a German citizen in the Third Reich? Americans, I believe, right now in 2005 -- should look at this film as a warning. No -- we are not fascist Nazis -- not yet. But the groundwork is there. The propaganda, the denial of the facts and the demonization of our enemies. The blind nationalism. We are at a turning point in our country -- and we would be wise to look to history as a reminder of what can happen when we as human beings let fear, ego, and the lust for power dominate over all else.
I will buy this DVD and share it with my family and friends.
As long as people believe in absurdities then they will continue to commit atrocities.
-- Bertrand Russell
- elizabeth-chesney
- Mar 14, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
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- 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