Harlan: In the Shadow of “Jew Süss”

Friday, April 23, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24, 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25, 2 p.m. NR Though almost forgotten today, Veit Harlan was one of Nazi Germany’s most notorious filmmakers. Millions all across occupied Europe saw his films, the most treacherous of which was the anti-Semitic propaganda film Jew Süss—required viewing for all S.S. members. An unrepentant and blindly obsessive craftsman, no figure—save for Leni Riefenstahl—is as closely associated with the cinema of the Holocaust years as that of Joseph Goebbels’ top director. Harlan was also the only artist from the Nazi era to be charged with war crimes.

With never-before-seen archival footage, unearthed film excerpts, rare home movies and new interviews, Harlan: In the Shadow of “Jew Süss” is indeed a searing portrait of the controversial filmmaker and an eye-opening examination of World War II film history. But it also shows how Veit Harlan’s family—especially the youngest generation—struggles even today with the dark myth of his artistic immorality. It’s the story of a German family from the Third Reich to the present, one that is marked by reckoning, denial, and liberation.

In German with English subtitles.

“Although his focus remains on Veit Harlan, Mr. Moeller directly engages, if again not deeply, questions about German mass guilt and the responsibility of succeeding generations.” Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Directed by Felix Moeller, 2010
RT: 99 min.