The Accountant of Auschwitz

source: The Accountant of Auschwitz

source: The Accountant of Auschwitz

This is my second attempt to write a review on this documentary; my first one mysteriously never made the upload! Do the people who are showing sympathy, to the likes of the Oskar Gronigs of the world, feel any sorrow for the babies and young children he was an accomplice to gassing, torturing, brutalizing in the death camps? To say that payback should be forgotten just because so much time has passed by, is such an insult to the many who died and the few who survived. I remember reading and learning, about the Israeli Vengeance squads searching for the escaped Nazi war criminals, as a young child and I thought it was an honourable thing to do...I still do. Brutal people who use war as the means to do what they get a perverse thrill from doing cruel acts should, live in fear all of their lives of being captured. We have had the Bosnian/Serbian search going on and we have the middle east and now the Russian v Ukraine war criminals being hunted. If nobody ever bothers to hunt them then these scumbags in future conflicts will think they can get away with it. And by the way, its not always the enemy that is the sadistic war criminal! This is not a perfect documentary by any means (quite poor actually) but it is a good insight into events that are hidden away, never taught about or just denied. War crimes and criminals should always be exposed to the full vengeance of the justice system!

That accountant was guilty, justice is blind. Age is no excuse for crimes. The only question is how do you punish them in a fair way. But I stand firmly on the side of those that seek justice. There are a lot of complexities in bringing a trial about. But at the end of the day you need to punish the guilty, no matter how long it takes. Its the morally right thing to do. I don't want to sound draconian but if you are guilty of crimes against humanity then you are guilty.

The documentary strays off course and offers very little information about Oskar Groning. The original bbc documentary I which he was featured gives a much better account of his history

So when is the Queen of England been put on trail, well millions of Irish were murdered for 800 yrs in her and her families name, food that would have saved lives during the famine of the mid 1800's was sold aboard on her orders, land robbed, so when is she going on trail ? Or is it one rule of the rich and one for the poor and when is German ms merkel also going on trail for her threats to destroy countries that didnt sign up for Lisbon treaty ?

Sad documentary, I already knew I would be angry, the impunity demonstrated throughout the documentary is infuriating, and as was well reported, each country carries its own load of guilt for past atrocities, ours, as well as the US, is slavery (complementing with the decimation of indigenous peoples), the conviction, although late, is representative, of the 600k soldiers, only 124 were arrested and convicted, tiny, but the courts bothered, since judges were also Nazis...

Oskar Grönig was a member of the SS and a bookkeeper at the Aushwitz concentration camp during World War II. In 2014 (when he was ninety-three years old), he was tried in a German court for being an accessory to murder. The details of the trial and related histories are recounted in this Canadian documentary. Director Matthew Shoychet and writer Ricki Gurwitz are clearly skilled as their film has all the elements of a great documentary including solid footage - some going back to the Holocaust itself, clever title devices that summarize history as they juxtapose the footage, and the inclusion of all sides of the debate. The debate, of course, is whether Grönig should be on trial due to his advanced age plus his past efforts to fight against the denial of the Holocaust in the 1990s. Some of the post-Holocaust histories include German trials (in the 1950s and 1960s) of those who were directly involved in the murders as well as the trials in later decades of those, like Grönig, who were captured and tried as accessories. Another praiseworthy element of the film is the many intelligent interviewees. They provide great insight on many discussions including various views on forgiveness (which follows a very surprising event during the trial) and how the phrase 'never again' has ended up as a sad failure considering the genocides that followed the Holocaust. By the film's conclusion, it is evident that even though the Holocaust ended over seven decades ago, it remains a real-life drama that can still cause shivers and bring out the best as well as the worst in people. It has obviously brought out the best in the creators of "The Accountant of Auschwitz". - dbamateurcritic

A vivid real life documentary of the hunt for a surviving war criminal. The footage is well shot and has a movie feel to it Excellent journalism

A really fascinating look at how a criminal can truly make themselves believe that they are innocent. Wonderful documentary. A must watch.