Le film comme crime: le cas veit Harlan

In: Raisons politiques: études de pensée politique, Issue 2, p. 167-189

Abstract

The German filmmaker Veit Harlan was the only filmmaker to be tried for "crimes against humanity." On July 15, 1945, four German lawyers appealed to the High Court of Justice of Hamburg, complaining that the denazification committee had cleared him. In particular, Harlan was charged because of the film, "Suss the Jew" (Jud Suss), remarkable because the film was a fiction. In what sense may a film be criminal? First, this article outlines he historical conditions of the making of this film and Harlan's indictment for complicity in crimes against humanity. Harlan's case is compared to that of Nazi propagandist Fritz Hippler, the Director of the Film Department and an SS captain. Based on these exemplary cases, the article questions the complex relationship between ethics and aesthetics, examining the lessons to be learned from the case of Veit Harlan and the judgment of his film, "Suss the Jew," as criminal. Adapted from the source document.