My Favorite Films of All Time: Conspiracy

  The film, Conspiracy, depicts the events of the Wannsee Conference where the infamous Final Solution was revealed to various members of the German bureaucracy for the first time. The film does a good job of presenting the events in a way that aligns with the historical truth but its greatest strength is how it fully shows how complicit the people involved were, as even those who were against genocide were still highly reprehensible, such as Wilhem Stuckart. Adding to the film’s power is Kenneth Branagh’s performance as Reinhard Heydrich and Stanley Tucci’s performance as Adolf Eichmann which are both excellent and bring these people to life with frightening realism. The frightening realism is most realized in the final scenes when everybody goes home like they have just discussed a game of golf. The film is interested in painting a portrait of a society that is rotten to the core and in that, the film succeeds beautifully.

The main content of what was presented at the Wannsee Conference is portrayed quite accurately in the film. Much of Heydrich’s statements on what was needed to effect the genocide is taken verbatim from the minutes of the conference. Also accurate in the film is how the conference was run briskly with any objections being quickly overruled. For example, throughout the conference, Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger is constantly trying to raise queries. In one instance, he says “clarification” in response to Heydrich’s announcement that the Jews must be eliminated from living space. Heydrich responds with saying “Absolutely, there will be a moment for that.” Despite saying this, however, he then proceeds as if Kritzinger had not spoken. The film seems to be suggesting that all that matters to Heydrich is to keep the meeting going. This is quite close to how historian Thomas Childers describes Heydrich’s management of the conference: “. . . . voices were quickly silenced by Heydrich’s smooth but intimidating demeanor.”

Interestingly, the film is somewhat more cynical than the historian Childers who argued that those who spoke up for sterilization were also those who were uncomfortable with the idea of mass murder. The film, however, takes a different approach. The minutes of the Wannsee Conference note that Stuckart proposed compulsory sterilization which the film portrays accurately. The film attempts to flesh out those motives, and at first it seems as if he is actually somewhat distressed about mass murder, but then his actual motives come across. In an angry outburst he proclaims that to matyr the Jews will lead to them being victorious in the court of public opinion. Thus, in a swift stroke, the film suggests it is not mass murder that troubles Stuckart, but rather how the mass murder is viewed by other people. It is now clear to the viewer that all of these people have their agendas, none of which come close to being humanitarian. As such, the true horror of the Nazi regime is made starkly clear.

Adding to the horror of the film is how well it presents its two main characters, Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann. Heydrich is portrayed as someone who is constantly veering between a seemingly charming and personable fellow to one who is chillingly cold. One instant he is entering the house and remarking how he would like to live in it someday, but then the next he is calmly discussing the plans of gassing millions of Jews. Some of the most disturbing scenes in the movie are when these two personas are combined, such as when he is threating the more troublesome members of the conference. For example, at one point he says to Kritzinger: “You would be a hard man to bring down. But certainly not impossible.” As Branagh delivers this line, he gives a little half smile which suggests how Heydrich is fully confident in his authority and power over other people. This whole conversation is a good approximation of the way Heydrich actually was as Walter Schellenberg, Heydrich’s close friend, once commented that Heydrich was incredibly good sensing the weakness of others.

Equally as compelling as the portrayal of Heydrich is the portrayal of Eichmann. Eichmann became famous during his 1961 trial at which Eichmann was described by journalist Hannah Arendt as representing the “banality of evil.” This comes across in Tucci’s portrayal. He is a man who does not cackle like a cartoon villain, nor does he make overt threats like Heydrich, rather he is a quiet unassuming individual. The film suggests that for him, this is just another day at the office which is quite disturbing to consider.

Indeed, one the most striking elements of the film is that it is not just Eichmann who is treating this so casually, but nearly everyone else there as well. They laugh, they joke, they eat, and at the end they leave. Again, this was the case in history too. Childers claims that after the conference no one acted disturbed or troubled: “Afterwards the participants stood or sat in small groups, servants passed cognac; cigars appeared, and a relieved atmosphere of conviviality prevailed.”

Overall, the film is a masterpiece at portraying this event. Everything important that happened is realized in the film whether it be what was discussed or just how the assembled people acted after the conference. The people in this film do not seem like deranged human beings with how they talk and act. It is only the actual words out of their mouth that reveals their monstrous nature. By the end of the film, the viewer is left not with the feeling of how did this happen, but rather when will something like this happen again.

Work Cited

Childers, Thomas. The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Curry, Andrew. “The Heydrich Equation.” HistoryNet. August 4, 2011. http://www.historynet.com/the-heydrich-equation.htm