PressSplit
On October 3rd, the film “The Investigation” will be shown in the Gallus Hall. The director and a prosecutor from the first Frankfurt Auschwitz trial are present.
Frankfurt – On Thursday, October 3rd, the film “The Investigation” will be shown in the Saalbau Gallus. The film reconstructs the first Frankfurt Auschwitz trial for the big screen. The choice of location for the film screening is no coincidence: between 1963 and 1965, the historic negotiations against 22 concentration camp employees were held in the Gallus hall building.
Both the director RP Kahl and contemporary witness and former public prosecutor Gerhard Wiese will be present for this special occasion. As a young public prosecutor – just 28 years old at the time – Wiese was one of the three prosecutors in the historic trial alongside Fritz Bauer. He was recently honored with an honorary doctorate by the law faculty at Goethe University for this historic achievement.
Film screening about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial: contemporary witness and director present
The film screening begins with a moderated discussion. Gerhard Wiese, RP Kahl and Dr. Markus Roth from the Fritz Bauer Institute, who deals intensively with the history of National Socialism and the Holocaust, will have his say.
Ina Hartwig, head of the cultural department, emphasized the importance of this event in a press release from the city of Frankfurt: “This film is a valuable piece of remembrance culture. As the city of Frankfurt am Main, we consciously remember the National Socialist crimes, but also how they were dealt with through the Auschwitz trial initiated by Fritz Bauer. The fact that the performance takes place at the original location is an important decision and the city supports the association’s initiative Light film culture “with full conviction,” Hartwig continued.
“The Investigation”: Film about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial is based on a play
The Auschwitz Trial, one of the largest and most important court cases of the German post-war period, was largely initiated by the Hessian Attorney General Fritz Bauer. He brought the unimaginable horror of Auschwitz before a German court and confronted the public of the young Federal Republic with the systematic murder in the concentration camps. The negotiations began in December 1963 in Frankfurt’s Römer and were moved to the newly built Gallus hall building in 1964, where the verdict was finally passed in August 1965.
The film “The Investigation” is based on the play of the same name by Peter Weiss, who attended the trial several times. Weiss processed his impressions during the negotiations in his text “Oratorio in 11 Songs”, which is considered one of the most important literary works dealing with the Holocaust.
Screening of “The Investigation” in Frankfurt: Tickets are available here
Almost 70 years later, RP Kahl filmed the piece with a large ensemble of 60 actors. The result is a four-hour work that blurs the boundaries between theater and film.
The event on German Unity Day begins at 2 p.m. with a discussion. The film will then be shown, followed by an audience discussion. Entry costs nine euros, reduced tickets are available for seven euros. Holders of the Frankfurt Pass can participate free of charge. Tickets are available at lichter-filmfest.de. (Paul Eisbach)
