Our critique of The Conference, the day the Nazis decided to eliminate 11 million Jews

2023-04-19 10:30:07

German director Matti Geschonneck films the Wannsee conference like an icy camera, using a cinematic device that commands respect. JULIA TERJUNG/Condor Distribution

CRITIQUE – This fascinating camera traces in a sober and original way the relentless course of the Wannsee conference, which has remained infamous in the history of the XX^e century.

It’s a spine-chilling film. A historical drama which recounts by the menu without doubt one of the most fatal days of the XX^e century. On January 20, 1942, in the morning, in an opulent villa overlooking Lake Wannsee, not far from Berlin, around fifteen dignitaries from the III^e Reich come together to work out “the Final Solution”.

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Black sedans displaying the acronym SS on their license plates drop off one after another Nazis looking like conspirators. Stiff in their verdigris uniforms, they begin by appreciating the central heating of this former villa that belonged to a Jewish industrialist.

Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the Gestapo, looks superior. He’s there to convince every member of the audience of a staggering agenda: to slaughter 11 million Jews. Around a large table, facing such a tranquil lake, fifteen dignitaries with slicked back hair, shaved temples, listen religiously to the planning of…

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