User Reviews

first of all, in response to the previous post this movie handles primarily the reaction of the SECOND generation, not the THIRD generation in response to the events and atrocities of WWII. It was Ludin's FATHER not grandfather who was the Slovakian ambassador. It is only towards the end of the film where the the grandchildren or third generation are interviewed more. also please remember that the film reveals the opinions of a only a very few German citizens. be very careful not to generalize. stereotyping is never good. there are many other books, movies and films which deal with the same subjects matter where the second and third generation comes to terms with the events that occurred in a very different manner. the 'GERMANS' as a whole may not share the same opinion as Barbel or her sisters. the women interviewed are giving their own personal reaction to the Nazi regime and the horrors of the Holocaust. each individual deals with things differently.

To condemn those for their father's sins would be to deny them of their right to think freely, just as their father denied the Jews.

ON THE OTHER HAND, for those who PRETENDED that their father knew nothing of what was done to the Jewish peoples is borderline Nazism.

Their father cared nothing for his children, otherwise he would have not left them with such a legacy. How can one be a good father when he has no regard for the human race... not just his race?

At least his grandchildren can see exactly what a monster he was. It must have given them a sense of freedom from his evilness.

I was happy to see that the filmmaker didn't let his sister off the hot seat.

My only criticism is that the music was terrible. It felt as though it didn't fit with the subject matter.

Very good idea told with a lot of heart. The documentation is a bit simple and partly cheap, but still fulfills its purpose. Rarely seen anything so profound and emotional about murderers from WWII. Above all, the children of the Nazi perpetrator play a major role here. Great.

Fascinating look at how a family can be in denial but with their loved one did and also look at a man who in other circumstances would probably have been blameless and a good family man. Instead he was responsible for carrying out part of the "Final Solution."

The film is about the legacy of high rank nazi official Hans Elard Ludin who was sentenced to death after world war 2 because of his involvement with war crimes. His son is the film maker and tries to display how his father was and still is perceived by his many children and their children. Even after his death and also whilst being alive. And of course their way of processing and interpreting their own memories in comparison with historic sources.

What I liked about the movie was the very honest way of showing how the family interacts especially when discussing delicate issues.

The camera work etc. is pretty good although I was kind of surprised by some of the sound effects used. They were kind of trying to tell the viewer what to think or feel about certain frames.

P.S: The other poster obviously didn't quiet get what was going on in the movie or is just to naive to understand it. at all. What I didn't like too much was the overall very small amount of prove for Ludin's involvement with crimes. I do think though that contrary to the opinion of his daughters Ludin did know what was going on. The film doesn't give enough input for me to have a founded opinion though.

I do also get the impression that this film is somewhat of a self medication for the filmmaker. coming to terms with his families past and maybe even getting rid of guilt that he feels. I don't know if this comes from a narcissistic point of view or something like that but one could get that impression.

Recommend movie - much better insight than most documentaries I've seen cause it's on a very personal level that somehow everyone can relate to.

after all the chatter about third generation this, third generation that finally a movie that shows how German families dealt with the Nazis they had as parents grandparents etc. the filmmaker shows how his older sisters react as he confronts them again with the facts the actually already knew but tried almost successfully to forget about their dad, who was the German military ambassador in Bratislava. and was involved in thousands of deportation orders, thus deliberately killing thousands of mainly Jews of Slovakia. i was a bit disappointed as i expected to be the case of Ludin's grandfather to be less clear. and found him as simple a murderer as most middle-high-ranking Nazis were. but that just meant i didn't find the movie to be what i expected it to be. the movie does, however, show how much Germans tend to mantle the Nazis in their family by stressing the loving relative (here:father) in them. (whoa: sorry, my unsatisfactory English stroked again). Especially some statements of the oldest sister ("Jews were killed in anti-partisan actions") are simply as wrong as disgusting as revealing for the German present. one deep and great advantage of this movie is that the filmmaker always manages to leave these statements not uncommented, while still continuing the interview and the movie. i don't know why nobody commented on this movie until now, because i think it's one of the best movies about Germans and their view of the Shoah. and i think the German view is pretty frightening.