The Commandant’s Shadow

Hans Jürgen Höss, son of Rudolf Höss, commander of Auschwitz and responsible for the murder of more than one and a half million people, confronts for the first time the shadow of his family legacy at the age of 87. His story, which inspired the recent film The Zone of Interest, takes tangible form in this remarkable documentary, in which he meets face to face with Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, cellist and Auschwitz survivor.

Accompanied by their children, Kai Höss and Maya Lasker-Wallfisch, the latter being Anita’s daughter, the four of them reflect on their respective family legacies shaped by trauma, guilt, and memory. The Commandant’s Shadow delves into the complexities of relationships between victims and the descendants of perpetrators, addressing fundamental questions about responsibility, forgiveness, and the lasting impact of past crimes on present generations.

In collaboration with the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Barcelona.