Nuremburg: Its Lesson for Today [The Schulberg/Waletzky Restoration]

The Greatest Courtroom Drama in History
by
Sandra Schulberg
2009
78 mins

Nuremburg: Its Lesson for Today shows how the international prosecutors at the first Nuremberg trial (1945-1946) built their case against the top Nazi leaders using the Nazis’ own films and records. The images they showed in the courtroom are still shocking today. The trial established the “Nuremberg Principles” — the foundation for all subsequent trials for crimes against the peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

When you order Nuremburg: Its Lesson for Today, you will receive a 2-disc box set (DVD + Blu-ray) that includes 14 hours of bonus films and interviews, plus 2 study guides, an essay by Nuremberg prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, and an extensive bibliography.

HAUNTING AND VIVID. What this documentary shows is how a vital and indispensable principle of humanity was restored.
A. O. Scott
New York Times
Read more at: nytimes.com

Synopsis

Made by Stuart Schulberg for the U.S. Department of War in 1948, Nuremburg was widely shown in Germany as part of the Allies’ denazification campaign, but for political reasons the U.S. government did not release Nuremburg to American theaters or in any other country. Over the years, the original movie negative and sound elements were lost or destroyed, but a few prints survived. More than 60 years later, Stuart's daughter, Sandra Schulberg, painstakingly restored the film with Josh Waletzky. They made a new 35mm negative from the best German print, preserving the original film with no editing changes. Their restoration uses original audio from the trial, allowing audiences to hear the defendants’ and prosecutors’ voices for the first time. Actor Liev Screiber was engaged to re-record Stuart Schulberg's original narration.

The film ends with a stirring plea: ”Let Nuremberg stand as a warning to all who plan and wage aggressive war.” That plea leaps the decades and makes Nuremburg a startlingly contemporary investigation into the root causes of war and the crimes against civilian populations committed during every war.

Reviews
**** MESMERIZING. 'Nuremberg' couldn't be more of the moment. Something of a minor miracle.
Ann Hornaday
The Washington Post
Read more at: washingtonpost.com
**** EXTRAORDINARY. SOME FILMS ARE SO IMPORTANT THAT THEY RESIST ALL CRITICISM AND RENDER IT MOOT. The unearthed and restored "Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today," for instance. Anyone with an interest in Hitler, the Holocaust and the international trials that followed should see it.
Amy Biancolli
San Francisco Chronicle
Read more at: sfgate.com
BRILLIANTLY RESTORED by [Stuart Schulberg's] daughter Sandra and Josh Waletzky….The reconstruction of the 1948 documentary [NUREMBERG] is a remarkable feat.
Ian Buruma
The New York Review of Books
Read more at: nybooks.com
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...Anyone wishing to do serious historical research on the Nuremberg Trial and its legacy must now consider this film, and the additional archive materials distributed with it, essential viewing and reading. This is a unique and extremely valuable addition to our resources for understanding the Trial and its continuing influence on international criminal law. In addition to the film's value for serious scholars, the film and many of the additional archival materials included with it will also serve as valuable resources for high school, college and university teachers and professors of history, law, ethics and human behavior.
EMRO review by Gary D.Byrd
SUNY/Buffalo
Read more at: emro.lib.buffalo.edu
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Video Librarian review by Dr. Frank Swietek
Assoc Prof of History, Univ of Dallas

Awards and Screenings
Berlin International Film Festival (Special Event), 2010
New York Film Festival (Official Selection), 2010
Jerusalem Film Festival (Official Selection), 2010
Toronto Jewish Film Festival (Special "Legacy Award"), 2010
"Best of Show," National Media Market, 2013

Director Commentary

This is a historically significant restoration of the long-suppressed 1948 film, now available for the first time in HD. To give viewers historical context, Nuremburg comes with 8 bonus films (including 3 films shown in the Nuremberg courtroom as evidence), 14 interviews, and 2 study guides, one of which is a history of international criminal justice. The interviews were shot specifically to shed light on the approach taken to the trial and its legacy today. Topics include denazification/re-education, amnesty, reconciliation, and reparations. These are transitional justice issues we face today. Other interviews focus on the direct link from the Nuremberg trial to the International Criminal Court, and the ad hoc tribunals in between.

With over 14 hours of video material, this “Nuremberg-Archive-in-a-Box” can be the basis for an entire course and/or support teaching in the fields of:
• Genocide & Holocaust Studies
• WWII
• War & Peace Studies
• Military History
• Law, Justice & Human Rights
• Jewish & Interfaith Studies
• History (American, German, European, Russian)
• Nazi & Neo-Nazi Ideology
• Political Science
• International Relations & Public Diplomacy
• Film & Documentary History
• Cinematography of the Holocaust
• Ethics

Features and Languages

Film Features

  • Closed Captioning
  • DVD Extras
  • Subtitles
  • Transcript
  • Resources for Educators

Subtitle/Caption Languages

  • English
  • Spanish

Promotional Material

Promotional Stills

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