Final Account, Storyville

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by 4jonboy, Jan 22, 2022.

  1. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    Saw this on BBC breakfast this morning. BBC four, Wednesday 26 January 22.00
    A portrait of the last living generation of everyday people to participate in the Third Reich....


    BBC Four - Storyville, Final Account
     
    17thDYRCH, Guy Hudson, Deacs and 2 others like this.
  2. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    Did anyone watch this last night? Would like to hear your comments as I've not watched it yet.

    Lesley
     
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    recorded it for later but that doesnt help does it
     
  4. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I can thoroughly recommend this documentary that was on BBC 4 last night. It may have been on before but if it was, I missed it.

    Some powerful and painful interviews with elderly Germans, some who served in the Wermacht, some who were civilians, and some from the S.S.

    There are those who claim that they didn't know or see anything. There are those who were horrified by what they saw but went along with it because they hadn't the courage to stand up to evil. There are those who now realise how they were lied to and were led down a very long dark road. More chillingly, there is one who would do it all again if the circumstances were right.

    There is denial, there is remorse and there is fanatiscm on display. But what stuck me most is that these people are so near the end of their lives and, whilst some are genuinely trying to come to terms with the consequences of their actions, others appear uninterested or unconcerned about acknowledging their part, however small, in the normalisation of a political doctrine that led to Auschwitz, Belsen, Dachau, and all the other work and extermination camps. Clearly many have not given much thought to what may be around the corner in the after life. Many do not appear to have any religious faith or believe in a god of any kind. They may be right and there may be no Judgment Day, and they may not have to answer to anyone for their actions.

    I, on the other hand, believe that we will all have to answer for our sins, if only to make any sense of the evil, cruelty and sheer horror that we as a species, regardless of race, creed, colour or political persuasion can inflict on our fellow humans and the other species that we share the earth with.

    There is a Leonard Cohen poem that I read over 40 years, and cannot now find or remember the exact words to. In sentiment it went something like this. Did you think that the Nazis looked like monsters with big sharp teeth and blood red claws? No, my friend, they looked like you or me.

    My final thought as I am still quite wound up about the documentary, is, in the name of god when are we going to stop hating and start loving one another?

    BBC iPlayer - Storyville - Final Account
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2022
    4jonboy and bofors like this.
  5. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    My memory of the poem is clearly wrong and perhaps it was another poem, but here is Leonard Cohen's.

    All There is to Know About Adolph Eichmann
    Leonard Cohen

    EYES:……………………………………Medium
    HAIR:……………………………………Medium
    WEIGHT:………………………………Medium
    HEIGHT:………………………………Medium
    DISTINGUISHING FEATURES…None
    NUMBER OF FINGERS:………..Ten
    NUMBER OF TOES………………Ten
    INTELLIGENCE…………………….Medium

    What did you expect?

    Talons?

    Oversize incisors?

    Green saliva?

    Madness?
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2022

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