On 29 February, some Sixth Form German students went to the cinema to see “The Zone of Interest” an Oscar nominated film which is loosely based on a novel by Martin Amis.

The film was not an easy viewing and the topic of the film, the story, the brilliant acting and the sound will stay with us for a long time. Thank you, Emilia, for your idea to see this brilliant film at the cinema.

Here is a short summary of the film:

The year is 1943. Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family: their idyllic home, complete with a thriving garden, is separated only by a wall from the horrors of Auschwitz, where Rudolf, a commandant, oversees the Final Solution.

As Rudolf’s stature in the government grows, his family remains blissfully ignorant of the atrocities going on just outside their front door – and the fact that their patriarch is a key player in one of history’s darkest chapters.

Told with masterful restraint by director Jonathan Glazer, aided by powerful performances and an utterly haunting soundscape from his collaborator Mica Levi, The Zone of Interest transforms Martin Amis’s novel into a chilling and unforgettable treatise on complicity.

Frau Byrne, Teacher of German