The Commandant's Shadow (2024)

The Commandant's Shadow is a deeply moving exploration of guilt, memory, and redemption, following Hans Jürgen Höss, the 87-year-old son of Rudolf Höss, the infamous Camp Commandant of Auschwitz. After decades of avoidance and denial, Hans is forced to confront the horrifying legacy of his father’s role in orchestrating the Holocaust.

The film begins with Hans living a quiet life in rural Bavaria, having distanced himself from his family name. When a young journalist, Miriam Levy, approaches him with documents and testimonies revealing new details about his father’s actions, Hans initially refuses to engage. However, his granddaughter, Sophie, persuades him to examine their shared history for the sake of future generations.

Hans embarks on a harrowing journey, traveling to Auschwitz for the first time in his life. Guided by a Holocaust survivor, Esther Goldstein, Hans faces the brutal realities of the camp. Through Esther’s vivid recounting of her experiences, the enormity of his father’s crimes becomes inescapable. The personal connection Esther establishes with Hans is both confrontational and compassionate, forcing him to wrestle with his own culpability as a silent beneficiary of the Nazi regime.

Interwoven with Hans's journey are haunting flashbacks to his childhood, revealing a complicated and often chilling relationship with his father. These memories, juxtaposed against the present-day horrors of Auschwitz, illuminate the psychological toll of growing up in the shadow of a war criminal.

As Hans grapples with his guilt and responsibility, the film also delves into Sophie’s determination to break the cycle of silence. Her efforts to educate others about their family's history and her collaboration with Miriam to create a documentary within the film highlight the importance of remembrance and action.

In a climactic scene, Hans delivers an emotional speech at Auschwitz’s memorial ceremony, admitting his father's monstrous crimes and expressing a heartfelt apology to survivors and their descendants. While some accept his words, others reject them, reflecting the complexity of forgiveness.

The Commandant’s Shadow closes with Hans planting a tree in Auschwitz’s memorial garden, a quiet yet poignant gesture toward acknowledging history and cultivating hope. Volker’s direction brings a raw, human perspective to the multigenerational impact of the Holocaust, making this film a profound meditation on reckoning with inherited guilt.