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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (April 17, 2015) — Milligan College will be one of the first venues in the U.S. to showcase a new documentary exposing the inner mind of one of Hitler’s closest henchmen, the head of the SS and architect of the Final Solution: Heinrich Himmler.
The festival award-winning film called “The Decent One,” produced and directed by Vanessa Lapa, will be shown on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in Hyder Auditorium located in Milligan’s Science Building. Milligan alum and Board of Trustees member Ron Dove (’87) served as a legal advisor for the film and will introduce it and answer questions from the audience after the showing.
This event is free and open to the public; however, the film is not rated and is intended for mature audiences, primarily because of graphic Holocaust footage, used sparingly and similar to footage seen at the U.S. Holocaust Museum or as part of an educational Holocaust documentary. The film also is in German, with English subtitles.
On May 6, 1945, soldiers of the U.S. Army occupied the Himmler family home in Gmund, Germany, where they discovered hundreds of private letters, documents, diaries and photographs. The film makes use of these recently-released materials to sketch the biography and expose the inner mind, ideals, plans and secrets of Himmler. The filmmaker, Lapa, lives in Israel and is a grandchild of Holocaust survivors.
In the film, the audience witnesses how cruelty can grow from apparent normalcy when fueled by ideology, Germany’s economic realities and a Fuhrer; and they’ll learn how an individual who lacks self-confidence can become a hero in his own eyes and one of the greatest mass murderers in history.
“We are excited to have this unique opportunity to preview a film of this caliber and historic gravitas,” said Dr. Ted Thomas, professor of humanities. “This should be an incredible experience that will give audiences a new insight into the horrible evils of the Holocaust.”
“The Decent One” has only been shown at a few venues in the country and will not be released on DVD until the fall. Described in the Jerusalem Post as “a virtuoso feat of documentary filmmaking,” the film has been featured on NPR and reviewed favorably in various outlets.
For more information on the film, visit www.thedecentonefilm.com.
Learn more about Milligan at www.milligan.edu.