What defines a "Classic?" Whether cars, design, or movies, most would agree its value stands the test of time. I had the pleasure of re-visiting an American classic last night: Judgement at Nuremberg (1961). Set in 1948 Germany and based on the historic post-WWI trials of former Nazis for war crimes, this courtroom drama offers tightly wound dialogue and innovative camera work. Director, Stanley Kramer, brings out powerful performances by Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximillian Schell, Judy Garland (in a surprisingly homely and dramatic role), and even a very young William Shatner.
If you become easily entranced by thought-provoking debate and themes that challenge our critical thinking, ones whose relevance remains even within today's headlines, rent Judgement at Nuremberg today. Today. Especially as the world marks in reverence Yom Hashoah, Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust.
Thanks, Valerie, for returning to such an important film. Yes, the film was star-studded. It's been a long time since I saw the classic, but I recall that it was riveting. As I wrote you in a recent email, the documentary, rather than fictionaized, account of the trial is chilling. You look at the faces of the killers, being tried for murder, and you see no remorse....merely smirks, smiles, and malignancy. Then you listen as the translation tries to persuade the judges that the men were merely following orders. Justice was served in that courtroom: most of the suspects were found guilty and executed. But we must remember how few of the Nazi killers were ever brought to trial. Even with Simon Weisenthal's efforts, and the spectacular trial of Eichmann in Israel, onlyh a handful of monsters were ever found and tried. Hundreds of thousands of SS murderers were never brought to justice. So while we must return to films like Spencer Tracy's Judgement, we must remember that justice was not served post WWII. PS: We went to Nurenburg years ago when our kids were young to show them where the few were tried.
ReplyDeleteA must-read for anyone interested in The Holocaust: Daniel J Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and The Holocaust. As the title suggests, the author provides details that prove that the large majority of Germans both knew about and condoned the death camps. My question: We can all imagine one person going crazy and hurting others....just look at the professor back east who opened fire on her colleagues...but how does an entire people go crazy and revert to savagery? is evil that prevalent in the human spriit? We can look beyond WWII to the Crusades, witch hunts, and other wondrous examples of human barbarity en masse. Troubling, deeply troubling. Must go back and re-read Lord of the Flies. Or maybe I shouldn't. Better to be an ostrich and hide our heads in the sand.
ReplyDeleteJust this week, Whitney R. Harris, 97, one of the principle prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials, died. He once said those proceedings put "humanity on trial."
ReplyDeleteOne sad note of the Holocaust is that the witnesses and judges are passing on. We need living people to remind us of our potential for barbarity. Beneath the facade of our polite lives lurks a devil in many waiting to appear. What will be the next catalyst that exposes mankind's savagery? A nuclear holocaust? Starvation? Another Hitler? No wonder I want to to return to Disney-style cartoons and 50's westerns.
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