THE DECENT ONE (DER ANSTANDIGE)
Cert 15
96 mins
BBFC advice: Contains real footage of Holocaust victims
Since I was a student, I have tried to understand the Holocaust, the motivation of its perpetrators and the ghastly fall-out on victims and their families.
A couple of years ago I took Mrs W and our children to Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Schindler factory in Krakow.
We stayed in the city's attractive Jewish quarter where it is hard to believe the atrocities which happened 70 years ago.
One of the architects of those evil deeds was Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS in Nazi Germany.
In The Decent One, director Vanessa Lapa gives a greater insight into this monster than has ever been seen before.
It is based on letters, memos and diary entries found at Himmler's home by American forces at the end of the war.
Instead of being handed over to the authorities, they were kept and some have only emerged recently.
The Decent One combines contemporary footage with the reading of the material by actors.
Its span ranges from entries by Himmler's parents surrounding his Christening, through his own entries during school, university and with the Nazi party.
The film also includes letters from his wife Marga, before and after their wedding, his daughter Gudrun and his mistress Hedwig Potthast.
Himmler's letters are remarkable for the contrast between mundane family anecdotes and his anger over the Jews and his clear belief that National Socialism was the right course for Germany and the world.
The Decent One is historically important and well-constructed movie,
Both Mrs W and I were engrossed throughout its duration.
Director Vanessa Lapa: The audience is thus granted personal access to the mind of the private man Heinrich Himmler and to the experiences, ideas, and emotions that turned him into the merciless “Architect of the Holocaust”.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: naked corpses
Overall rating: 8.5/10