Nuremberg (film)

Nuremberg is a docudrama produced between the United States and Canada based on the book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial by Joseph E. Persico , who tells the story of the Nuremberg Trials (Bavaria, Germany) from November 20 , 1945 to October 1 Of 1946.

Argument

First part

After the end of the Second World War the 7 of maypole of 1945 , Hermann Goering ( Brian Cox ), a lieutenant of Adolf Hitler , is delivered to the Americans. Presidential adviser Samuel Rosenman ( Max von Sydow ), following orders from President Harry S. Truman , recruits Attorney General Robert H. Jackson ( Alec Baldwin ) for the preparation of a court of war against Göring and 22 other surviving Nazi leaders , including those found Albert Speer ( Herbert Knaup ), Minister of Armaments and war III Reich and others arrested for war crimes , which are held in the US base in Bad Mondorf ( Luxembourg ). Jackson, his assistant Elsie Douglas and his legal team are heading for Europe . American psychologist Gustave Gilbert ( Matt Craven ) arrives at the base with the prisoner Hans Frank , a senior official in Nazi Germany, who tries to commit suicide.

Jackson negotiates with representatives of the allies , the British prosecutor Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe ( Christopher Plummer ), the Russian general and judge Iona Nikitchenko and the French magistrate Henri Donnedieu de Vabres to carry out a judicial process as a whole. After apalabrarlo, Jackson chosen as the venue for the trial the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg . Goering and the Nazis are stripped of their high ranks and transferred to the status of prisoners in Nuremberg where conflict with the guards. British commander Airey Neave attends his opinions. US Judge Francis Biddle takes control of the court, but remains reluctant to hand over the witness at Jackson’s insistence. Later the suicide of the Nazi leader Robert Ley takes place the 25 of October of 1945.

Court President Sir Geoffrey Lawrence begins the trial with all the defendants pleading not guilty ( nicht guldig ) and Jackson gives an emotional speech. While they eat, Göring maintains his defiant attitude towards the court with the others with the exception of Speer , who begins to show signs of repentance. Maxwell Fyfe gives way to the words of witnesses who witnessed the extermination of the Jewish population while Jackson reads some documents that, between him and the witnesses, reveal the horrors produced in the concentration camps .

Part Two

Speer explains to Gilbert the leadership of Göring and insists that his control over the others may not be beneficial. Göring begins to take control of the situation and goes to the German nation. Gilbert suggests that Jackson keep the defendant in solitary confinement under surveillance. Göring turns out to be more skilful and ends up humiliating Jackson, who later accuses US Judge Francis Biddle of giving Göring too much freedom in court. Following the advice of prosecutor Maxwell-Fyfe, Jackson returns to his cell and plants him face-to-face teaching him the evidence of his crimes against the Jews by overturning the defendant’s denials.

Gilbert visits the defendants and under a suggestion Jackson tries to convince them to accept responsibility for their crimes. The commander of the prison Burton C. Andrus softens standards in prison for Christmas , and Göring begins to befriend his watchful, Lt. Tex Wheelis . In the courts, the side of the accusation intensifies and the defense calls Rudolf Höß , who casually confesses what happened at Auschwitz . Speer is implicated in the enslavement of foreign workers by his colleague Fritz Sauckel and in response accepts his collective responsibility for the crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime .

Gilbert interrogates Göring ‘s wife and reveals that Hitler’s orders were to execute them all. Jackson is moved by Gilbert’s polls claiming that the main evil of Nazism was a complete lack of empathy. Göring uses his final statement to denounce the court that judges them, finally he and 10 more prisoners are condemned to the gallows . Speer on the other hand is sentenced to 20 years in prison. Before the sentence was handed down, Göring committed suicide to avoid his execution after he was denied his request to die before a firing squad . In the film, Andrus presides over the other executions.

Cast

• Alec Baldwin is US Supreme Court Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson .
• Brian Cox is Hermann Göring .
• Christopher Plummer is Sir David Maxwell Fyfe .
• Jill Hennessy is Elsie Douglas .
• Matt Craven is Capt. Gustave Gilbert .
• Christopher Heyerdahl is Ernst Kaltenbrunner .
• Roger Dunn is Cor. Robert Storey.
• David McIlwraith is Cor. John Amen .
• Christopher Shyer is Brig. Gen. Telford Taylor .
• Hrothgar Mathews is Thomas J. Dodd .
• Herbert Knaup is Albert Speer .
• Frank Moore is Hans Frank .
• Frank Fontaine is Wilhelm Keitel .
• Raymond Cloutier is Karl Dönitz .
• Bill Corday is Alfred Jodl .
• Ken Kramer is Fritz Sauckel .
• Max Von Sydow is Samuel Rosenman .
• Sam Stone is Julius Streicher .
• Douglas O’Keeffe is Baldur von Schirach .
• Benoit Girard is Joachim von Ribbentrop .
• James Bradford is Hjalmar Schacht .
• Frank Burns is Wilhelm Frick .
• Erwin Potitt is Walther Funk .
• Tom Rack is Hans Fritzsche .
• Roc LaFortune is Rudolf Hess .
• Colm Feore is Rudolf Höß .
• Dennis St John is Franz von Papen .
• Griffith Brewer is Konstantin von Neurath .
• Gabriel Gascon is Erich Raeder .
• Julien Poulin is Dr. Robert Ley .
• Alain Fournier is Alfred Rosenberg .
• René Gagnon is Arthur Seyss-Inquart .
• Len Cariou is Francis Biddle .
• David Francis is Geoffrey Lawrence, 1st Baron Oaksey .
• Len Doncheff is Gen. Iona Nikitchenko .
• Paul Hébert is Henri Donnedieu de Vabres .
• Michael Ironside is Cor. Burton C. Andrus .
• Charlotte Gainsbourg as Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier .
• Geoffrey Pounsett is Maj. Airey Neave .
• Steve Adams is Gen. Lucius D. Clay
• Paul Hopkins is Capt. Dan Kiley .
• Susan Glover is Emmy Göring .

Reception