Tuesday 19 April 2016

Labyrinth of Lies (Im Labyrinth des Schweigens)


A junior prosecutor in Germany in 1960 sets out to discover and prosecute former members of the SS responsible for murders at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. His work and that of his tiny unit is hindered by the hostility of a community then unaware, or in denial, of activities at these camps.

It came as a surprise to me that as late as fifteen years after the end to the Second World War there remained a general ignorance of the Auschwitz camp amongst Germans. These actual prosecutions in the early 1960s brought Germany around to community education and acknowledgement of the wartime crimes.

'Labyrinth of Lies' focuses on the investigations. There are references to the concentration camp atrocities but for the most part the references are indirect and not confronting. The film has an odd theatrical rather than cinematic style at moments but otherwise is skilfully presented.

★★★1/2

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