Speaking the Unspeakable
- This article discusses the filmic representation of the infamous Wannsee Conference, when fifteen senior German officials met at a villa on the shore of a Berlin lake to discuss and co-ordinate the implementation of the so-called final solution to the Jewish question. The understanding reached during the course of the ninety-minute meeting cleared the way for the Europe-wide killing of six million Jews. The article sets out to answer the principal challenge facing anyone attempting to recreate the Wannsee Conference on film: what was the atmosphere of this conference and the attitude of the participants? Moreover, it discusses various ethical aspects related to the portrayal of evil, not in actions but in words, using the medium of film. In doing so, it focuses on the BBC/HBO television film Conspiracy (2001), directed by Frank Pierson, probing its historical accuracy and discussing its artistic credibility.
Author details: | Alex James KayORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1080/17504902.2019.1637492 |
Title of parent work (English): | Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History |
Subtitle (English): | The Portrayal of the Wannsee Conference in the Film Conspiracy |
Publisher: | Routledge |
Place of publishing: | Abingdon, Oxon |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2019/08/09 |
Publication year: | 2019 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2022/02/09 |
Volume: | 27 |
Issue: | 2 |
First page: | 187 |
Last Page: | 200 |
Organizational units: | Philosophische Fakultät / Historisches Institut |
DDC classification: | 2 Religion / 29 Andere Religionen / 290 Andere Religionen |
3 Sozialwissenschaften / 32 Politikwissenschaft / 320 Politikwissenschaft | |
License (German): | CC-BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung, nicht kommerziell, keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International |
External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Philosophische Reihe ; 162 |