THE DECENT ONE

Dir. Vanessa Lapa (94min, Israel/Austria/Germany, 2014)
German with English Subtitles
Documentary
DC Premiere

Heinrich Himmler writes, “In life one must always be decent, courageous and kind-hearted.” How can a man be a hero in his own eyes and a mass murderer in the eyes of the world?

Through previously undiscovered private letters, photos and diaries that were found in the Himmler family house in 1945, The Decent One gives unique, and at times uncomfortable, access to the life and mind of the merciless “Architect of the Final Solution.” A unique portrait of one of the most prominent figures of the Third Reich: The Reichsfuhrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler.

Co-presented by The Documentary Center at GWU, All Generations, and 3GDC.

Director Vanessa Lapa in person at the Sunday, February 22 screening.

Born and raised in Belgium, Vanessa Lapa has been living in Israel since 1995. An accomplished journalist, she produced and directed over a hundred factual reportages for Israeli television. Her documentary film Olmert - Concealed Documentary was hailed as a unique cinéma vérite achievement, revealing the behind-the-scenes of the government and the private life of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Vanessa was also on the Israeli side of the production and content for the 52-minute documentary Straddling the Fence directed by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, which aired worldwide.

“The Decent One reveals a psychological portrait of a man devoted to his family yet consumed by a soul-blackening and horrifically destructive cause.” -Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

 

“Eerie and utterly riveting” -Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post