I saw "Final Account: The Last Testimony of the Third Reich" on the first day of release [Ichiro Enoki's Akasatana Movie Vol.8]

On the first day of release, I went to see ``Final Account: The Last Testimony of the Third Reich'' (2020). This is the first afternoon episode of Chante at TOHO Cinemas in Hibiya. The title of the movie is very similar to " Final Countdown " (in katakana, "Final" and "Count" overlap!), and the subtitle "Third Reich" makes it look like a time-slip war story (? ), but this movie is not a huge spectacle. There is also no CG used for the moss. This is a very low-key and shocking documentary film that took 10 years to make.

Director Luke Holland's mother is Jewish, and his grandparents were killed in concentration camps. At first, I think I started making the film with the idea of ​​finding out the truth behind my grandfather and grandmother's deaths, but I soon realized that it would be difficult to do so. So, what this director did was to carefully record the testimonies of the Germans. “Final Account” means the final testimony. As time has passed since the war, the number of Germans who know about Jewish concentration camps is also getting older. This is the last Being There to capture the real voice in the video. So the structure is basically an interview with an old man. It also includes footage from Nazi Germany at the time. It's far from a spectacle. But, I'm horrified. I'm transfixed.

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What I saw was something like the ``edge'' of a human being. People tell lies. Tries to cheat and escape. trying to evade. They internalize the lie they told and try to live that lie.

Director Luke Holland reportedly pointed his camera at 200 Germans, but those who are still alive today (or rather, for the past 10 years) must have been children or young adults at the time. Even in Japan, when the so-called wartime generation disappears and their ``war experience'' becomes limited to air raids and the evacuation of school children, the side of war damage will be brought into focus, and the perpetrators' role will recede.

That's where The Final Account turns its camera. Awareness of victimization. Did you know about Nazi concentration camps? What did you think and how did you live?

The tone of the interview is very calm. Never criticize the interviewee in a questioning tone. Take a calm look at the stories of the elderly. Germany was defeated in World War I and was at economic rock bottom. The older generation's parents support the Nazis that have risen to prominence. Economic hardship is the fault of the Jews. At the beginning of the movie, the story of ``child abuse'' is talked about. Children join the Hitler Youth, stand in front of Jewish-owned shops and harass them. They carry placards that say "No Jews allowed." Well, it's a hate crime tip.

I hesitate when I see that. How about this? The Hitler Youth may look like the Boy Scouts at first glance, but it is unmistakably a Nazi youth organization. Were they forced to harass Jews? Were they holding hate placards or were they holding them?

Concentration camps begin to be built throughout Germany, and Jews are forced into them. Political prisoners who opposed the Nazis were also admitted. Due to the dominant ideology, mentally ill people and gay people are also included. the camera asks. Did you know? how was it?

“Final Account: The Last Testimony of the Third Reich” ©2021 Focus Features LLC.

Everyone says, ``I didn't know.'' When asked a question, they reflexively say, ``I didn't know.'' But the witness on the screen begins to speak. "After the war, all the Germans said they didn't know anything. That's a lie. The Nazis were secretly carrying out the genocide against the Jews, and they didn't know about it. That's not true. Everyone knew." .

The woman who worked at the camp had a huge impact. I knew it, but it didn't matter to me. "Because I'm a bookkeeper." After "I didn't know," you say, "It doesn't matter to me." Is the bookkeeper exempt? Should bookkeepers be free from conscience? I was overwhelmed by the cheerful old woman who said, ``I'm a bookkeeper.''

Everyone didn't know. I knew it, but it didn't matter to me. I haven't taken direct action. I put my hand down, but it was work. It's what I was forced to do. There are many excuses to avoid sin. It is a psychological defense wall for the elderly. Hidden behind its defensive walls, they lived their lives after the war. Even those who were members of the Waffen-SS say they have nothing to do with it. I can only shudder. The ``kiwa'' of that person.

It's really frightening that you can't just say, ``Such a horrible person is not human.'' It's human. Hitler, a madman, did not point a gun at individual German citizens and force them to exterminate the Jews. Everyone was enthusiastic and willing to do it. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. Everyone says they didn't know that. I knew but said it didn't matter.

This is said to have been director Luke Holland's last film. It is definitely a work that will go down in history. People 100 years from now will be shocked when they see this. He was not only afraid of the Germans of the time, but also of himself.

Text: Ichiro Enoki

Born in 1959. Born in Akita Prefecture. Debuted in a commercial magazine with ``Takarajima'' in 1980 while studying at Chuo University. Since then, he has serialized columns and essays in various magazines, and continues to this day. Also active on radio and television. Twitter @ichiroenokido

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“Final Account: The Last Testimony of the Third Reich”

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