In this astonishing documentary, Michael Verhoeven unearths the long-buried truth behind the crimes against humanity committed by the Nazi regime, while simultaneously showing modern Germany in the throes of an identity crisis.
The Unknown Soldier documents Germany’s controversial Wehrmacht Exhibition, which for the first time ever revealed the personal letters, photographs and film footage implicating the common foot soldiers who were usually seen as noble pawns of leaders like Himmler, Eichmann, and Hitler. While nationalist and far right groups led street protests saying that the ‘evidence’ damning their fathers and grandfathers had been falsified, Verhoeven still interviewed historians and experts, soldiers and eyewitnesses, and traveled to the killing fields of the Eastern Front. The result is a revealing look at an insecure nation, still reconciling its proud history with a unique and horrible wartime legacy.
DVD, 97 Minutes
Found on: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
