This documentary was an extremely powerful film. From a psychological standpoint, there are so many questions that seem unanswerable regarding the responsibility of a genocide on this scale. I am someone who tends to lean towards the side of forgiveness when it comes to judgement, but this film exposed me to true psychopathic people. The quote that evil is the absence of empathy struck a chord, and I think that is the most basic descriptor. It is understandable to feel remorse for some characters on trial considering the guilt they felt afterwards, but those who maintained their beliefs that Jews were below human categorization are absolutely impossible to justify. I was most shocked by the rhetoric from these apathetic people, believing that Germany would actually someday come to honor their legacy and history of the Nazis. My belief is that dignity is an integral aspect of the human experience. Everyone involved had to find some way to justify their behaviors, either by making excuses or standing by their initial beliefs.
As I am currently taking the Constitutional Interpretation course, I appreciated some of the measures taken to create precedence for a court across nations trying defendants for crimes against humanity. Impartiality in the structure of the case, even for those having committed the most horrific crimes, is absolutely necessary to uphold democracy. Considering nothing like the Nuremberg Trials had ever happened in the history of humanity, I appreciated the legality the trial upheld, even if politics influenced every aspect of its makeup.
One aspect of the trial that I feel relates integrally to the field of journalism is the connection to humanity. Witnesses work in a trial the same way that human testimony works in a long form piece, they give meaning to the numbers and documents. This was a thought expressed in the film, as simply reading statements and clarifying facts of the case are unimportant if the judges don’t understand the gravity of the situation for individuals suffering. The strongest cases appeal to the human experience as well as the level of the atrocity. This also seems to be a key difference between short-form and long-form journalism. Short-form journalism is important to share facts with the public as they become available, but the deepest reader impact will be from pieces that go behind the scenes and talk with those affected, factoring in the information shared from short form reporting.
One last thought about this film was the strength of the short film played at the court recorded as concentration camps were being liberated. This part of the movie was truly hard to watch. Seeing the manner in which people were being handled, the state of their body in starvation, moments like this make clear that words can only do so much, and sometimes it is only through being able to see the event will the gravity of the situation sink in.
