Classics under the Swastika

Why was classical music so important to Hitler and Goebbels? This film tells the story of two people who represent the musical culture of the German Reich, but in very different ways. Wilhelm Furtwängler was a star among conductors, and Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was the cellist of the famous girls' orchestra of Auschwitz. They shared a love of classical German music. The world-famous conductor made a pact with Hitler and his henchmen. The young woman, who was deported to Auschwitz because she was Jewish, was allowed to survive because of her musical talent. This documentary by Christian Berger contains archival footage as well as interviews with musicians such as Daniel Barenboim and Christian Thielemann, with Wilhelm Furtwängler's children and, of course, the 97-year-old concentration camp survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who recounts her harrowing memories.