Labyrinth of Lies is the English title of a German
movie from 2014 that is based on a true story: the criminal investigation
leading up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials that took place 1963-1965. The
German title is Im Labyrinth des Schweigens. Here is some basic information
about it:
** Produced by Uli Putz, Sabine Lamby and Jacob Claussen
** Directed by Giulio Ricciarelli
** Written by Elisabeth Bartel and Giulio Ricciarelli
** Run time: 122 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Alexander Fehling as Johann Radmann - prosecutor
** André Szymanski as Thomas Gnielka – journalist
** Friederike Becht as Marlene Wondrak – Johann’s girlfriend
** Gert Voss (1941-2014) as Fritz Bauer (1903-1968) – chief prosecutor
** Hartmut Volle as Alois Schultz – teacher
** Johannes Krisch as Simon Kirsch - artist
** Hansi Johmann as Schmittchen - secretary
** Johann von Bülow as staatsanwalt Haller
** Robert Hunger-Bühler as oberstaatsanwalt Friedberg
The movie begins in the West German town of Frankfurt am Main in 1958 and ends five years later, in 1963, when the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials are about to begin. This movie is not about the trials, but about the investigation leading up to them, i.e. the movie offers the background for these historical trials.
While the movie is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events from 1958 to 1963. Not everything happened as portrayed in the movie. The moviemakers have done whatever they felt was necessary to create a good movie.
The leading character Johan Radmann is not a real person. He is a composite of three young prosecutors:
** Joachim Kügler (1926-2012)
** Produced by Uli Putz, Sabine Lamby and Jacob Claussen
** Directed by Giulio Ricciarelli
** Written by Elisabeth Bartel and Giulio Ricciarelli
** Run time: 122 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Alexander Fehling as Johann Radmann - prosecutor
** André Szymanski as Thomas Gnielka – journalist
** Friederike Becht as Marlene Wondrak – Johann’s girlfriend
** Gert Voss (1941-2014) as Fritz Bauer (1903-1968) – chief prosecutor
** Hartmut Volle as Alois Schultz – teacher
** Johannes Krisch as Simon Kirsch - artist
** Hansi Johmann as Schmittchen - secretary
** Johann von Bülow as staatsanwalt Haller
** Robert Hunger-Bühler as oberstaatsanwalt Friedberg
The movie begins in the West German town of Frankfurt am Main in 1958 and ends five years later, in 1963, when the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials are about to begin. This movie is not about the trials, but about the investigation leading up to them, i.e. the movie offers the background for these historical trials.
While the movie is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events from 1958 to 1963. Not everything happened as portrayed in the movie. The moviemakers have done whatever they felt was necessary to create a good movie.
The leading character Johan Radmann is not a real person. He is a composite of three young prosecutors:
** Joachim Kügler (1926-2012)
** Georg Friedrich Vogel (1926-2007)
** Gerhard Wiese (born 1928)
The latter of the three, Gerhard Wiese, was consulted while the movie was being made, and he attended the German premiere of the movie.
The fictional prosecutor Johann Radmann reports to Fritz Bauer who is a real person. Bauer knew about Auschwitz, but Radmann did not know anything about it before he began his investigation. In this movie we follow him as he investigates and slowly discovers the truth about what happened at Auschwitz during World War Two.
In 1958, the German public had little or no knowledge about Auschwitz. The Allied Powers had organized the Nuremberg Tribunal shortly after the war, but when it was over, many Germans tried to forget about Germany’s role in the war, in particular those who had been responsible for death and destruction.
Former members of the Nazi party lived and worked among the German people. They did not have to hide, because they had nothing to fear. The German title of the movie In the Labyrinth of Silence tries to make this point. The English title Labyrinth of Lies has a smart alliteration, but does not fit the movie very well. Because the problem in West Germany around 1960 was not lies, it was silence.
As stated above, the moviemakers have turned three young prosecutors into one. They have also added a love story for the fictional character: Johann meets Marlene and they fall in love. I assume this (fictional) love story is included in order to make some variation, to make sure that the movie is not only about the criminal investigation.
I am not sure this was a good idea. And I can see many reviewers feel the same way. They are not happy about this side of the movie. They feel it is a distraction, which does raise the quality of the movie; if anything, it lowers the quality of the movie.
In the movie Radmann tries to locate Dr. Josef Mengele, who worked at Auschwitz. He discovers that Mengele had relocated to Latin America and that he sometimes went back to Germany to visit his family in Günzburg in the south of Germany. However, Radmann does not manage to catch Mengele while he is in Germany.
It is true that Mengele had escaped to Latin America after the war. It is equally true that he was able to visit West Germany several times without being apprehended by the West German authorities. However, the Israeli secret service Mossad was after him, so he had to be more careful. After a few years, Mossad gave up the hunt for Mengele. The former SS officer died in Brazil in 1979.
When the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials began in 1963, 22 former SS officers were charged with murder. When the trials ended in 1965, three were acquitted. Six were sentenced to life in prison, while 13 received sentences from 3 to 14 years.
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials were a turning point in German history. It was the first time a government had prosecuted its own soldiers for actions committed during a war. This movie tries to show us how the process began, how and why the word “Auschwitz” became a well-known name, a symbol of oppression and horrible crimes. As such it is relatively but not completely successful.
What do reviewers say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 73 per cent; on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 81 per cent; and on Metacritic it has a rating of 62 per cent. The Roger Ebert website gives it 2.5 out of 4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 63 per cent.
I understand the positive ratings. I also understand why the average ratings do not go all the way to the top: there are flaws here and there. The leading character is fictional and he has a fictional love story which does not improve the overall quality of the movie.
The ratings of 62 and 63 per cent correspond to three stars on Amazon. If you ask me, these ratings are too harsh. The ratings of 73 and 81 per cent correspond to four stars on Amazon. These ratings seem more appropriate to me. This is my verdict: this movie deserves a rating of four stars.
PS # 1. A word of warning: this is a German movie. The German soundtrack is covered with English subtitles. If you do not like to read subtitles, you should stay away from this product. But if you can accept subtitles, or if you can understand German, this movie might be something for you.
PS # 2. The following articles are available online:
The latter of the three, Gerhard Wiese, was consulted while the movie was being made, and he attended the German premiere of the movie.
The fictional prosecutor Johann Radmann reports to Fritz Bauer who is a real person. Bauer knew about Auschwitz, but Radmann did not know anything about it before he began his investigation. In this movie we follow him as he investigates and slowly discovers the truth about what happened at Auschwitz during World War Two.
In 1958, the German public had little or no knowledge about Auschwitz. The Allied Powers had organized the Nuremberg Tribunal shortly after the war, but when it was over, many Germans tried to forget about Germany’s role in the war, in particular those who had been responsible for death and destruction.
Former members of the Nazi party lived and worked among the German people. They did not have to hide, because they had nothing to fear. The German title of the movie In the Labyrinth of Silence tries to make this point. The English title Labyrinth of Lies has a smart alliteration, but does not fit the movie very well. Because the problem in West Germany around 1960 was not lies, it was silence.
As stated above, the moviemakers have turned three young prosecutors into one. They have also added a love story for the fictional character: Johann meets Marlene and they fall in love. I assume this (fictional) love story is included in order to make some variation, to make sure that the movie is not only about the criminal investigation.
I am not sure this was a good idea. And I can see many reviewers feel the same way. They are not happy about this side of the movie. They feel it is a distraction, which does raise the quality of the movie; if anything, it lowers the quality of the movie.
In the movie Radmann tries to locate Dr. Josef Mengele, who worked at Auschwitz. He discovers that Mengele had relocated to Latin America and that he sometimes went back to Germany to visit his family in Günzburg in the south of Germany. However, Radmann does not manage to catch Mengele while he is in Germany.
It is true that Mengele had escaped to Latin America after the war. It is equally true that he was able to visit West Germany several times without being apprehended by the West German authorities. However, the Israeli secret service Mossad was after him, so he had to be more careful. After a few years, Mossad gave up the hunt for Mengele. The former SS officer died in Brazil in 1979.
When the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials began in 1963, 22 former SS officers were charged with murder. When the trials ended in 1965, three were acquitted. Six were sentenced to life in prison, while 13 received sentences from 3 to 14 years.
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials were a turning point in German history. It was the first time a government had prosecuted its own soldiers for actions committed during a war. This movie tries to show us how the process began, how and why the word “Auschwitz” became a well-known name, a symbol of oppression and horrible crimes. As such it is relatively but not completely successful.
What do reviewers say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 73 per cent; on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 81 per cent; and on Metacritic it has a rating of 62 per cent. The Roger Ebert website gives it 2.5 out of 4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 63 per cent.
I understand the positive ratings. I also understand why the average ratings do not go all the way to the top: there are flaws here and there. The leading character is fictional and he has a fictional love story which does not improve the overall quality of the movie.
The ratings of 62 and 63 per cent correspond to three stars on Amazon. If you ask me, these ratings are too harsh. The ratings of 73 and 81 per cent correspond to four stars on Amazon. These ratings seem more appropriate to me. This is my verdict: this movie deserves a rating of four stars.
PS # 1. A word of warning: this is a German movie. The German soundtrack is covered with English subtitles. If you do not like to read subtitles, you should stay away from this product. But if you can accept subtitles, or if you can understand German, this movie might be something for you.
PS # 2. The following articles are available online:
** Tom Tugend, review of Labyrinth of Lies, JTA, 1
October 2015
** Peter Bert, “Labyrinth of Lies and the Auschwitz
Trials,” posted on his blog on 27 January 2015
PS # 3. For more information about Josef Mengele, see this book: Mengele: The Complete Story by Gerald Posner and John Ware (1986, 2000).
PS # 3. For more information about Josef Mengele, see this book: Mengele: The Complete Story by Gerald Posner and John Ware (1986, 2000).
*****
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