Film funding for German movie "The Investigation"
The Finkelstein Foundation is supporting the educational material and website associated with the ensemble film “Die Ermittlung” (The Investigation). In addition, it plans to present the film at various locations in Germany and at Bayer sites.
Premiere of “Die Ermittlung” at the Berlin Zoopalast. With more than 60 well-known actors, four weeks of rehearsals, five days of shooting and a running time of 240 minutes, director RP Kahl's film is already considered one of the most unusual film productions of recent times. © Finkelstein Foundation
Under the direction of RP Kahl, 60 actors have brought Peter Weiss' 1964 play "The Investigation" to the big screen. It is based on the Auschwitz trial that took place in Frankfurt from December 1963 to August 1965. The central question is: How was the extermination of people in Auschwitz organized, and what responsibility did the defendants bear? Peter Weiss himself was in contact with German lawyer Fritz Bauer and attended parts of the trial. From this, he developed the oratorio in 11 songs. It is a documentary piece that examines locations and individuals in each song and presents perpetrators and victims on stage. It cannot provide a comprehensive view of the Auschwitz trial - the audio recordings and documents provided by the Fritz Bauer Institute are more suitable for that.
"With the support of this film, we aim to advance the critical examination of the Nazi past as part of our remembrance and educational work".
Annemarie Huehne-Ramm, director of the Finkelstein Foundation
"The Investigation" and the role of industry in the Auschwitz trial
Peter Weiss' play must be viewed in the context of the time of its premiere. In the 1960s, many of the Nazi perpetrators were either still in leading positions or had regained them. The Auschwitz trial and the play that followed did not fit into the narrative of innocence or simply following orders that had been created.
In this context, Peter Weiss highlighted the role of the industry, mentioning I.G. Farben and Bayer AG, among others. This also sparked significant interest from the former management of Bayer AG at the time, who saw the play as an attack on their own economic activities, as well as on democracy and capitalism. An article by Stephan H. Lindner in the Journal of Business History edits a document from the Bayer archives and describes the socio-political circumstances. He writes about the corporate management: "The clear rejection of the accusations, particularly those against I.G. Farben, in the Auschwitz trial and then in the oratorio, showed how outraged they were and how much they felt attacked - and ultimately how vulnerable they were. Even if the authors of the oratorio were declared to be communists, political enemies, in order to discredit them and not have to engage with their arguments, the accusations still remained in the air."
Clearly, in the 1960s, there was no reflection on the moral responsibility for the crimes of I.G. Farben during the Nazi era. This process was only initiated and carried out by Bayer through its involvement in the establishment of the German Foundation EVZ (Remembrance, Responsibility and Future), and later with a clear positioning in the founding of the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation in 2023. This makes it all the more important for the foundation's management and its advisory council to actively support the film today.
"This is an important film that has found a way to make the unimaginable clearly visible. The statements and appearances of the 18 defendants are crucial. With the rapidly increasing anti-Semitism in Germany, this film could not be more relevant and important".
Bella Zchwiraschwili, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at the World Jewish Congress and member of the Finkelstein Foundation's advisory council.
