An austere but emotionally charged film: premiere of »The Witness«

On 6 March 2023 a discussion was held in the Filmhaus, a municipal cinema in Nuremberg, at the premiere of Bernd Michael Lade’s film »Der Zeuge« (»The Witness«).

When I received the invitation to participate in the post-screening panel discussion with the film’s director, screenwriter and lead actor Bernd Michael Lade and its cameraman Guntram Franke, I had mixed feelings. A »history expert« is quickly perceived as someone with the authority to judge content as »right« or »wrong«.

So what is the film about?

»Der Zeuge« centres on the testimony of the former concentration camp prisoner Carl Schrade, who survived eleven years in five different Nazi concentration camps. Schrade gives a striking account to a US military tribunal of the crimes he experienced at the hands of the Nazis. The experiences of dehumanisation are pieced together like a jigsaw. They are juxtaposed with statements from the accused. This dense tableau of sequences presented in a completely unique cinematic language is anything but a standard documentation of a Nazi trial. Based on court transcripts and Carl Schrade’s memoir »Eleven Years«, which was written in 1947 but not published until 2014, Bernd Michael Lade’s film takes a historical figure and a historical setting but places them into an artistic narrative rather than a historical, documentary style production. Using highly condensed stylistic methods, this almost austere but at the same time emotionally charged film succeeds in drawing a striking contrast between the experience of the system of cruelty and terror in the camps and the revealing statements of those responsible. The director thereby offers a tightly woven artistic narrative that consciously deploys filmmaking devices that differ from those frequently seen in historical documentaries made for television.

In 1946 Carl Schrade was called as a witness for the prosecution in the trial against members of the SS, guards and Kapos (prisoner functionaries) of Flossenbürg concentration camp complex. During the final months of the war, the SS had designated Schrade himself as a Kapo in the barrack for sick prisoners at Flossenbürg concentration camp. In this role Schrade was able to make use of the opportunities for action within the coercive camp system that could occasionally make the difference between life and death. Carl Schrade had been classified as a »career criminal« back in 1934 on account of a previous conviction and this designation was used to register him at each of the five camps in which he was imprisoned. The film uses the term and reproach »career criminal« to pose questions about the true crimes.

The audience’s contribution to the evening’s discussion demonstrated their interest in the film; their questions and statements were both thoughtful and emotional. During the discussion it became clear that many people, including those with an interest in this period of history, still know little about those persecuted as »career criminals«. The discussion revolved around the topic of dehumanisation in the concentration camps, our responsibility today and the lack of knowledge about the injustice experienced by people such as Carl Schrade. Those of us on the panel provided ideas and information from our own perspective, drawing on a mix of artistic and historical approaches.

Dr. Christa Schikorra

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