In Full Circle
Restoration brings to life a piece of film history never seen outside of Germany ― NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY. From 1948 to Berlinale Special.
NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY
One of history’s greatest courtroom dramas the world never saw has finally arrived on the big screen as part of the Berlinale Special. Originally written and directed by Stuart Schulberg under the supervision of the U.S. Military, NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY (USA, 1948) has been restored in a complete 35mm print by Josh Waletzky and Sandra Schulberg ─ the director’s daughter. “My father produced it between 1946 and 1947 right here in Berlin”, Schulberg said as she introduced the film at the Berlinale. “It has come full circle.” The film was widely shown in Germany in 1948, but was never shown elsewhere in the world upon the discretion of U.S. officials.
NUREMBERG depicts the trial initiated then by four powerful allied countries ─ France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States ─ against the top Nazi leaders. It uses footage shot by the Nazis themselves as evidence against the crimes they committed in concentration camps and in the different countries they attacked. Also, in this film, the voices of the defendants and the prosecutors are heard for the first time.
Using the structure of the four counts of indictment, NUREMBERG presents its case similar to a lawyer inside a courtroom – by consequentially reconstructing the statements of the judges and rebutting the defendants through the aforementioned Third Reich clips. The trial went on to lay the groundwork for subsequent prosecutions for crimes against peace – for “the greatest menace of our times: aggressive war”, as Justice Robert H. Jackson uttered in his opening statement in court.
“Today Germany, tomorrow the world”, Hitler said. The restored film – highly involving and bewildering in its depiction of hard realities – strikes with its relevant theme. NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY provokes a moral and socio-cultural discussion regarding crimes against humanity not just in the context of the events of the Second World War, but in the context of contemporary times. It poses a challenge for audiences to carry the message of the Nuremberg trial as they come face to face with the crucial issues of today’s globalized world.
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