White-tiled rooms, neon lighting; on the walls black and white photographs documenting the atrocities committed by the german Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in WW2. Against this background former soldiers talk about their experiences beyond the bounds of "normal" warfare. With a mixture of helplessness, impotence, shame, opportunism and undiminished fanaticism, witnesses from that time tell of atrocities such as shooting of Russian PWs, the murder of Jews and the rape and abuse of women.The differing accounts of these events demonstrate how selective perception was even in there most inhuman and brutal environments. This film seeks not only to contribute to the demolition of the myth of the "decent" Wehrmacht (as opposed to the evil SS) but also to illuminate the construction of history in the post-war period and to make a diagnosis of the present.

Interview with Ruth Beckermann about the film (german) www.ruthbeckermann.com

Some basic information about the "Wehrmachtsausstellung" en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The screening is organised as part of the seminar Debating Middle East Conflicts in Post-Nazistic Spaces? Post-nazistische Räume als Verhandlungsorte der Nahost-Konflikte? Conceived and organised by Eduard Freudmann in collaboration with Tal Adler on the initiative of students of PCAP as part of "Kritische Künstlerische Praxis als Dissens". Note that the seminar will continue in May and June 2009.