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What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy

Play trailer 1:50 Poster for What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy Released Nov 6, 2015 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
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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What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy

Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review Audience Member The power of reality and denial Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy

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Movie Info

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
Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
Screenwriter
Philippe Sands
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
British English
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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