The Nazi Officer’s Wife   (Documentary)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Documentary: B

 

 

What happened in Austria during the rise of Hitler is known, but not accessible as much as it should be.  The Nazi’s Officer’s Wife (2003) tells the story of Edith Hahn, a Jewish woman (interviewed throughout this program) who kept finding her world closing in on her, until she decided to found a way to pose as an “Aryan” woman, with all the proper papers.  She was assuming the identity of a friend currently alive in Austria, and immediately fled to assume her new identity as a way of surviving.

 

It is only much later did she find out about the Holocaust.  In the meantime, after a stretch in slave labor fields, which guaranteed she would never see her mother alive again, the rest of her family is shipped off “somewhere” and she continues her charade.  It turns out to be an ever-compelling story of chance, luck, human nature, instinct triumphant, and unique look at human nature.

 

Rory Kennedy and Liz Garbus co-produced and Garbus directed this very well edited and paced telling from Hahn’s own memoirs.  Even the way her Nazi husband becomes a soldier is something else.  She is also challenged by having to suddenly live under a new name, which could have destroyed her sanity.  This goes far beyond another tale of surviving the Holocaust, especially since it is going on so far and away as for her not to know about it.

 

The full screen image looks as clear as it should for a recent analog videotape production.  As with such documentaries, there is the usual mix of film and tape images, not to mention stills.  This plays just fine.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo decodes well enough into Pro Logic surround.  The higher bit-rates A&E/New Video use pay off here, as usual.  All the interviewees sound clear, while the narration by Susan Sarandon and readings by Julia Ormond are at least as clear.  There are no extras.

 

With so much material about the era coming out on DVD, we are covering as much as we can, surprised about how much of it is effective and works.  The unique thing about The Nazi’s Officer’s Wife is it ranks as one of the few full-fledged stories about the women who went through the experience, and that makes it something special indeed.  It is very much worth your time.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo