What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy

Released Nov 6, 2015

1h 33m

Documentary

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87%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Accompanied by human-rights lawyer Philippe Sands, the sons of two Nazi war criminals travel through Europe to confront the past sins of their fathers.

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Audience Member

Very strong documentary that deals with the sons of two notorious Nazi war criminals- one is in complete denial over his father's misdeads despite the overwhelming evidence presented to him (including signed documents, mass graves, a torched synagogue ), the other is damning of his father and concludes that his friend must secretly be a Nazi sympathist.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very strong documentary that deals with the sons of two notorious Nazi war criminals- one is in complete denial over his father's misdeads despite the overwhelming evidence presented to him (including signed documents, mass graves, a torched synagogue ), the other is damning of his father and concludes that his friend must secretly be a Nazi sympathist.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting documentary if not a little boring. In a nutshell, you have two men whose fathers were Nazi war criminals. One tries to come to understand what his father did. The other refuses to admit his father may have done some terrible things (all evidence would say he did those things). Having just watched a movie about Milgram's obedience study, that's sort of what's at play here. Because the one man wants to be close to his father, he cannot admit his father did wrong. His loyalty makes him blind to the facts. In a way, that's kind of what created the whole mess anyway. In that regard, it's an interesting documentary.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

http://cinephilecrocodile.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/what-our-fathers-did-nazi-legacy-dir.html

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

The power of reality and denial

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

Sons reflect on their father's Nazi legacies and come to very different conclusions.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

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David Evans

Director

Niklas Frank

Actor

Philippe Sands

Actor

Horst Wachter

Actor

Philippe Sands

Writer

Philippe Sands

Executive Producer

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What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy: Trailer 1

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Kate Muir

Times (UK)

What is it like to grow up as the son of a senior Nazi, with atrocities on your family conscience? In this powerful documentary, the British lawyer Philippe Sands meets two men living in the shadow of the Third Reich in very different ways.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 19, 2015

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It entirely upends what I confess were my own preconceptions about what such a film would be: that is, a placid, consensual study, ruefully brooding on the sins of the fathers. This is far more challenging - and more disturbing.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 19, 2015

Full Review

Deborah Ross

The Spectator

A horribly gripping film.

Nov 19, 2015

Full Review

Craig Schroeder

Battleship Pretension

Sands often lets his frustration with Wächter bubble over and it results in a film that frequently sprints towards brilliance while stumbling at critical thematic moments, incapable of overcoming its own editorializing.

Jan 7, 2021

Full Review

David Brake

One Room With A View

In illuminating a fascinating question, My Nazi Legacy presents a new view of The Holocaust that makes for captivating and compelling content.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 19, 2019

Full Review

Joe Bendel

Epoch Times

What Our Fathers Did is a documentary with real intellectual heft, but there are very personal stakes involved.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 18, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

Accompanied by human-rights lawyer Philippe Sands, the sons of two Nazi war criminals travel through Europe to confront the past sins of their fathers.

Director: David Evans
Producer: Philippe Sands, David Evans, Nick Fraser
Screenwriter: Philippe Sands
Distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 6, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 9, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.0K
Runtime: 1h 33m

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