29 August 2024
The Commandant’s Shadow
Two lives. Two stories. One wall that divided them.
The Commandant’s Shadow follows Hans Jürgen Höss, the 87-year-old son of Rudolf Höss, as he faces his father’s terrible legacy for the first time. His father was the camp commandant of Auschwitz and masterminded the murder of over a million Jews.
The life of Höss and his family was recently fictionalised in the Oscar-winning The Zone of Interest. Now, The Commandant’s Shadow tells the story of the real people.
While Hans Jurgen Höss enjoyed a happy childhood in the family villa at Auschwitz, Jewish prisoner Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was trying to survive the notorious concentration camp. At the heart of this film is the historic moment – eight decades later – when the two come face-to-face in Anita’s London living room, together with their children, Kai Höss and Maya Lasker-Wallfisch.
The Commandant’s Shadow has a 93% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Times (UK) calling it “rich and fascinating … resonant indeed for all families everywhere, and for the dubious stories they tell about themselves.”
More eye-opening documentaries
Crazy-conspiracy documentary Shadowland and 8 more cult classics
Explore the secret world of how fringe movements manipulate facts to recruit their followers in series like Shadowland Season 1 on Showmax.
The sound of Donna Summer on Showmax
What’s a summer soundtrack without Donna Summer? Watch HBO documentary Love to Love You, Donna Summer and see the series and movies that keep her music alive today.
Two documentaries to stream after HBO’s Succession
Succession had us enthralled. From Made of Money with Brian Cox to The Murdochs: Empire of Influence, here’s what to watch after Succession on Showmax.
7 documentaries about the secret lives of people you’ll probably never meet
Discover 7 documentaries from Kenya, Nigeria and the world at large about amazing people you may never meet.