Ordinary Men: The "Forgotten Holocaust"

2022 0h 58m DE

👍

7.4

SOLID

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 48★7.2IMDB · 1,939

DocumentaryHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Six million Jews died during World War II, both in the extermination camps and murdered by the mobile commandos of the Einsatzgruppen and police battalions, whose members shot men, women and children, day after day, obediently, as if it were a normal job, a fact that is hardly known today. Who were these men and how could they commit such crimes?

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Philipp Moog
Self - Narrator (voice)
Christopher R. Browning
Self - Historian
Hilary Earl
Self - Historian
Stefan Klemp
Self - Historian
Stefan Kühl
Self - Sociologist
Harald Welzer
Self - Social Psychologist
Benjamin Ferencz
Self - Jurist
Markus Friedmann
Reenactment Performer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Manfred Oldenburg
Writers: Manfred Oldenburg
Languages: English, German
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 58-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Manfred Oldenburg, shot by Domenic Barbero. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stefan Ziethen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dirk Hergenhahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Philipp Moog and Christopher R. Browning and Hilary Earl carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt17424334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Manfred Oldenburg directs. Domenic Barbero behind the camera. Stefan Ziethen scores. Dirk Hergenhahn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 58-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 4 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
4Directed by Manfred Oldenburg, shot by Domenic Barbero. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Stefan Ziethen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Dirk Hergenhahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Philipp Moog and Christopher R. Browning and Hilary Earl carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt17424334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "mass murder", "holocaust (shoah)", "world war ii", "jew persecution".
11Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Domenic Barbero
Original score: Stefan Ziethen
Editing: Dirk Hergenhahn
Makeup / hair: Yasmin Vardar
Sound: Tizian Satlek
Runtime: 58 min · 0h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: DE
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ordinary Men: The "Forgotten Holocaust" (2022)
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 1,939 votes

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Manfred Oldenburg

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What people are saying

BornKnight2024-01-04
★ 8/10
Interesting and sad documentary about the Einsatzgruppen (firing squads) of Germany's WWII, that was considered as a privileged group as they didn't had to go to the fronts, instead of the Wehrmacht (war forces). Seeing by a group of german psychologists and american lawyers, they didn't know at first what they would had to do in the future, and it wasn't an obligation - but those who recused were ostracized by the companions. An american lawyer, Benjamin Ferencz, was one of the wisest lawyers that I've seen he insisted on the Nuremberg Trials, and proved they albeight of the crime being committed they were common man, many of middle class education and professions that thought this was the best for the country as they were following orders and even the relate of one of the commanders that cried at the orders he had to give. Many soldiers had psychological problems after the first "task". given. Maybe one the phrases that marked me the most was "was them sadistic psychopath, for the crimes?" - "no, many weren't. I must ask the same about the man who dropped the hiroshima and nagasaki atomic bombs he was a sadistic psychopath", he concludes, "no" he was a man who thought he was doing the best for his country at the time. My thought about the matter is when it comes to innocent civilians lives that had no part in any armed conflict, as I for sure couldn't do that even if it costed my life. The documentary closes showing several and equally horrible genocides examples that occurs to modern days. The main problem isn't the man that shot in most of the cases, but the doctrine or politics behind it to teach that is part of the job.

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