Film on Nazi sparks controversy in Germany

BERLIN - A movie about the making of one of the most notorious Nazi propaganda films stirred a controversy at its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival Thursday.

“Jud Suess - Film ohne Gewissen” (Jew Suss - Rise and Fall) by German-born director Oskar Roehler charts the rise and fall of the actor Ferdinand Marian who was forced to play the leading role in Josef Goebbels’ fiercely anti-Semitic 1940 film “Jud Suess”.

However, the movie was met with muffled boos both at the end of the special press screening and the press conference amid questions from reporters challenging the details of Marian’s life as set out in Roehler’s film.

But Roehler hit back saying: “We wanted to tell emotions. Had it been a documentary it would have essentially been a very different film.”

Roehler said from the start he found the movie’s script interesting “because it showed the Third Reich from a different angle; from the perspective of the elite.

“It was not just about bad Nazis marching up and down the streets,” he said. “It was interesting looking at Nazi high society and the subtle pressure that was applied to people to work for them.”