Shattering Silence
Director: Eric Friedler
Germany 2007 60 mins
Language: German with English subtitles
This investigative documentary asks where the wealth of one of Germany’s richest families really came from. A legendary moment in Germany’s post-war ‘economic miracle’ occurred when the Quandt family acquired the ailing BMW company and turned it into one of the giants of motor manufacturing. This film delivers a detailed analysis of the back-story of Günther Quandt under the Third Reich. Named as a Wehrwirtschaftsführer (leader of the armament industry) by Hitler in 1937, Quandt ran an industrial empire that specialised in manufacturing batteries for V2 rockets and German submarines. These batteries were manufactured by slave labourers from across Europe using toxic ingredients. Survivors recount their lethal working conditions. Research reveals a matter of fact business plan for one plant which expected 80 workers a month to die. Yet the family escaped the post-war De-Nazification programme with their wealth intact. As a result of this film, an enquiry into the Nazi origins of the Quandt family’s wealth has been set up, after 60 years of denial. MG
We regret that Director Eric Friedler is now unable to join us for a Q&A. A discussion will be led by UKJFF Board Member and filmmaker Luke Holland, director of BBC/arte documentary I Was a Slave Labourer.
Screening with: With a Little Patience (Türelem)
Dir. Laszlo Nemes | Hungary | 2007 | 14 mins | No narration
A young female office clerk is carrying out her daily routine until a stark revelation comes to light just outside her window.
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