Page 89 - All About History - Issue 29-15

Reviews

THE HOLOCAUST

A passionate and powerful insight into
the murder of 11 million
Author Thomas Cussans Publisher Andre Deutsch
Price £30 Released Out now
ometimes staying wholly impartial lives, in what has
whenwritingonaparticularsubjectin achieved a broader
historyisneitherpossiblenordesirable, legal meaning as the
andsoitiswithThomasCussans’ ‘Nuremberg Defense’.
S explorationoftheHolocaust.Thisis Two pages at a
farfromaGCSEhistorytextbook,asCussans time, this sensitively
exploresthemoodofNaziGermanypriorto assembled hardback
1933, the manipulation of the German masses reflects on Europe
by Hitler with his Nazi elite and the gradual, at its lowest ebb in
systemic denigration of the ‘Untermenschen’, human memory
using pseudo-science and propaganda. The –boththeNazi
re-treading of this ubiquitous topic is no less collaborators and the
harrowing today than it ever has been. ‘righteous’ – at one
Cussans’ language is barely restrained as he point juxtaposing Hitler’s atrocities
describes mass-murder as an industry, from Stalin regime, which killed far more
the brutality of SS foot soldiers to the unfeeling than the Nazis did over a longer pe
Nazi pen-pushers, the chemists who invented Personal artefacts and Nazi orders a
ZyklonBandthestatisticiansandexpertsof as removable reproductions in enve
infrastructure who made transportation to betweenpages,asahauntingoccas
the concentration camps possible. It seems Butevenbeforewe’dgottothefirst
that most shirked responsibility during their we were sold on The Holocaust:it’s
subsequent trials, claiming they were just coffee-table quality but this deserve
doing their duty, some in fear of their own reverenceofalibrary.

ADMIRAL A defiant Dutch drama
Directed by Roel Reiné Starring Frank Lammers, Rutger Hauer, Charles Dance
Released Out now
dmiral follows the story of Michiel they are largely accurate portrayals. De Ruyter
de Ruyter, the most celebrated naval wasindeedareluctantadmiralwholongedtobe
commanderinDutchhistory,andisset athomewithhisfamily,butwonoverthelove
during one of its most turbulent periods. and respect of his men through his immense
A The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century strategic talent. The portrayal of William of Orange
are in full swing, and the country finds itself on hints at his homosexuality, and the gruesome
thebrinkofcivilwarbetweensupportersofthe scene depicting the prime minister’s murder is
republican regime and the Orangists, who believed unfortunately pretty close to reality.
William III should be head of state. Admiral presents an impressive dramatisation
Forarelativelylow-budgetfilm,itiscertainly of a time and place largely ignored by Hollywood,
effective. It seems every one of its 8 million euros andremindsuswhyitissoimportantthatforeign-
hasbeenusedwisely,asfromthestartthemovie language films remain within our periphery.
is bursting with action-packed naval battles, stunts
and special effects. These inevitably fall short of
theirHollywoodcounterparts,butthecamerawork
more than makes up for it. Much of this filming
hasbeendoneonfull-sizereplicaships,bringing
an authenticity to the film that would have been
impossible to achieve otherwise.
Nordoesthescriptitselfstraytoofarfromreality.
Six years of research and script development went
into making Admiral – and it shows. Though the
events it recounts – which in reality took place © Alamy
over 20 years – have been significantly condensed,
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