Jenseits des Krieges

White tiled spaces, neon lighting, black and white photographs on the wall showing the Wehrmacht’s crimes on the Eastern front, the “Vernichtungskrieg” exhibition, total war. Within this framework, the filmmaker and her cameraman shoot interviews with former soldiers in which they talk about themselves and tell us about their experiences East of the war, beyond ‘normal’ war. Mingling feeling of shame, embarrassment and despair, opportunism and inveterate fanaticism, witnesses of this period describe how Russian prisoners of war were executed, Jews murdered and women raped. The different versions given demonstrate just how selective perception can be, even in the most appalling of conditions. Moreover this film throws fresh light on the period which saw the founding of the second Republic in Austria and offers a diagnosis of the present day situation. It shows us examples of those father who helped to rebuild the country and shape our society, who, not least, incalculed in their children their own world-view.