Nazism was a political and social movement that marked one of the most terrible periods of humanity, and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people, including Jews, gypsies, blacks, LGBT+ people, among other minorities. In audiovisual it is not difficult to find titles that address the subject, whether in the form of protest, awareness, education or even to awaken the feeling of justice.
Among the many productions is the acclaimed series huntersfrom Prime Video, released in 2020, and the feature The book Thief, based on the book of the same name by Markus Zusak. But there is still a large collection with other works that deserve your attention.
Thinking about it, the canaltech listed 10 movies and series that address Nazism to watch online.
10. Jojo Rabbit
Released in 2019, this feature tells the story of Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), a 10-year-old Nazi, who treats Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) as a kind of close friend, in his imagination. His greatest ambition is to join the Hitler Youth and meet with the führer.
One day he discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish woman (Thomasin McKenzie) in the attic of the house, and decides to expel her from the place. But, after several failed attempts, Jojo ends up giving in and empathizing with the new guest.
Directed by Taika Waititi, the Jojo Rabbit mixes good doses of drama with a touch of comedy, and can be watched on Star+.
9. The Struggle of a Lifetime
This feature, released in 2023, is based on a true story and tells the life of Harry Haft who was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp at the time of World War II. There he got involved in a fight to defend a friend and, after that, he was noticed by a Nazi soldier who noticed his talent for fighting.
The official sadist forced Harry to fight every day with the other Jews in order to provide entertainment for the Nazi troops. Without choices, the Jew kept fighting, always thinking about surviving one more day and who knows how to find his first girlfriend and the great love of his life, who also went to a concentration camp.
Directed by Barry Lindson and starring Ben Foster, the feature mixes scenes in black and white and color, and abuses the flashbacks to tell the story.
you can watch The Struggle of a Lifetime at the Prime Video, apple tv and Google Play.
7. Anne Frank, My Best Friend
In 2021, Netflix released the feature Anne Frank, My Best Friend which tells the story of friendship Anne Frank and Hannah Goslar, but from the point of view of the latter.
When Nazi troops advanced across the world, both were sent to concentration camps. But whereas Hannah was left in a “softer” location with access, albeit meager, to food, Anne went to a much worse one.
The film precisely portrays Hannah’s anguish when trying to communicate with her friend and, subsequently, help her out of this absurd situation—which clearly did not happen.
Directed by Ben Sombogaart and written by Paul Ruven, the film stars Aiko Beemsterboer, Lottie Hellingman and Björn Freiberg.
You can watch the Anne Frank, My Best Friend at Netflix.
6. The Photographer of Mauthausen
Another Netflix movie that addresses Nazism is The Photographer of Mauthausenreleased in 2018. It tells the story of Francesc Boix (Mario Casas), a former soldier who fights in the Spanish Civil War and is later imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp during World War II.
To try to survive, he discovers photography as a hobby and ends up recording several historical and absurd moments that occurred in the countryside. When he discovers that the Third Reich lost to the Soviet army in the battle of Stalingrad, he decides to save the records made and later expose them to the world.
The film, directed by Mar Targarona, is available on Netflix.
5. Schindler’s List
In Schindler’s List, we follow the story of Nazi party member Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), known for being an opportunistic and nice person at the same time. Even involved with so much cruelty, he chose the other side of the story and managed to save more than a thousand Jews from the concentration camps, all using his entire fortune and, consequently, going bankrupt.
The film is directed by Steven Spielberg and is over three hours long, in addition to high acclaim from specialized critics. The cast also includes Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Caroline Goodall.
Schindler’s List is available at clear video, Looke and Google Play.
4. Hitler’s Circle of Evil
In this Netflix series, we follow Hitler’s Nazi regime at the beginning, when the plan was to control Germany and start one of the greatest massacres in history. In 10 episodes, the plot shows everything from planning to negotiations, strategies and execution.
The cast of the series includes Jonathon Michaels, Guy Walters, Michael Lynch, Richard Overy, Sonke Neitzel, among others.
You can watch the series Hitler’s Circle of Evil at Netflix.
3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
This film, which has become a classic over time, tells the story of Bruno (Asa Butterfield, the protagonist of Sex Education), an eight-year-old boy who is the son of a Nazi official who holds an important position in a concentration camp.
He has no idea of the atrocities his father participates in and ends up befriending Samuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy of similar age, who lives on the other side of an electrified fence, not knowing the dangers that these encounters can cause.
Despite being considered quite controversial by many critics, the feature film directed by Mark Herman features Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis and Jack Scanlon in the cast.
The film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas can be purchased or rented from Microsoft Store and Google Play.
2. Inglourious Basterds
One of the most famous films about Nazism is inglourious bastardswhich tells a good story of revenge against the fascists, during the Second World War.
In the film, we see how Lieutenant Aldo Raine, Brad Pitt’s character, commands a platoon of soldiers of Jewish origin who are preparing to attack the Germans, killing as many Nazis as possible.
In a parallel story, Mélanie Laurent’s character, Shosanna Dreyfuss, has the same plan that will be put into practice by putting several Nazis in a movie theater. Released in 2009, the film is directed by Quentin Tarantino, also featuring Christoph Waltz and Eli Roth in the cast.
inglourious bastards can be watched on Telecine, Star+, Globoplay and Prime Video.
1. Life is Beautiful
Considered by many to be one of the best (and saddest) films about Nazism, Life is Beautiful was released in 1997 and takes place in Italy during World War II. The plot accompanies the Jew Guido, played by Roberto Benigni, and his son Giosué, played by Giorgio Cantarini, when they are taken to a concentration camp.
To try to protect the child from all the suffering, terror and violence they will face, the father uses his imagination so that he ends up believing that everything is just a big joke.
Directed by Roberto Benigni himself, Life is Beautiful it still has the actors Horst Buchholz, Marisa Paredes and Nicoletta Braschi in the cast.
You can watch the full length on Google Play, Prime Video and Microsoft Store.
Bonus: hunters
The Amazon Prime Video Original Series, produced by Jordan Peele (Run!) and starring Al Pacino, follows a group of hunters who end up discovering that there is, in the United States, a group of neo-Nazis whose objective is to revive fascism and start the Fourth Reich.
Aiming to fight them, the group unites and goes in search of revenge. With only 11 episodes, the first season – which was released in 2020 – pleased the public and critics. The second, which arrived in the Prime catalog in January 2023, promises not to be ugly. You can already watch it on on PrimeVideo..
