Final Account
Director: Luke Holland
Year Released: 2020
Rating: 3.0
Starting in 2008, documentarian Holland (who passed away in 2020) went around Europe interviewing (now elderly) individuals who were involved with the Third Reich - as a part of Jungvolk, the Hitler Youth, the League of German Girls, the Waffen-SS, etc. - and talks to them about their memories and experiences and whether they have regrets. The word "final" in the title is most likely a reference on Hitler's "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" but I don't think we'll ever get anything definitive anymore out of anyone that was there: after people have spent decades lying to themselves and others, you can't expect absolute honesty (although the one gentleman speaking in Wannsee expresses great remorse), and the level of denial is still kind of remarkable (I took a tour of Dachau years ago, and even our tour guide said, "Everyone had to know, but they didn't want to admit it"). The coldest line (to me) among many unnerving observations: "These heroes you expect to find, there aren't many of them."