Harlan - In the Shadow of Jew Suss Review
By David Kempler
Even the Shadow Doesn't Know
In 1940, in Nazi Germany, Veit Harlan made "Jew Sűss", a film used as propaganda to drum up more hatred towards Jews, not that it was especially needed. When it first appeared in German theaters, very often the patrons would go into the street wanting the blood of a Jew - and getting it.
Now, 70 years later, Director Felix Moeller examines the film's legacy by interviewing Harlan's descendents. What we learn is that their views range a great deal. Most keep their connection to Harlan under wraps, others have changed their last names in order to avoid scrutinizing. As you might expect, the most intriguing ones play Harlan's actions down and look like they are dying to say more incendiary things than that.
Harlan originally signed up for the project at the behest of Mr. Goebbels. Why he did so remains a bit of a mystery. What percentage of his decision was out of fear, if any? "Harlan - In the Shadow of Jew Sűss" tries to answer these questions even though there is no way to be certain.
While Moeller has attempted to shed light on a controversial topic, he never fully explores the impact of Harlan's work. Perhaps that is because we all know what happened, but he fails to delve deeply into the details of Harlan's film; he only shows snippets. The resulting effect makes us appreciate the effort more than the conclusions reached. Too much is left unanswered. Maybe it's unfair to expect more from anything on this topic because no matter how much we explore it, we can never understand it. That's a lesson we have already learned hundreds of times before.
