Credit: Beta Film
Netflix has a penchant for true crime and it's added another string to its bow after premiering German dramatic mini-series NSU: German History X, on July 7.
Credit: Beta Film
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This gritty three-parter shows a major scandal in Germany for the past few years from three perspectives. Each episode written and directed individually, with their own narrative and style, weave together a story of national socialism's rise after the fall of the Berlin wall, the underground terrorist acts of a few of its members and the corrupt investigation that follows.
Credit: Beta Film
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The timing of the release couldn't have been any better, being only two weeks since Britain voted to leave the EU and immigration being a hot topic in the debate. The story portrayed highlights the danger of nationalist extremism, xenophobia, corruption and, in particular, hate crimes, can have on whole communities.
An ongoing court case and public outcry after 13 years of investigations has gripped German newspapers for the past few years. The NSU (National Socialist Underground) neo-nazi group is allegedly responsible for the deaths of nine Turkish and Greek immigrants between the years of 2000 and 2006, multiple bombings, including the 2004 Cologne pipe bomb, armed robberies and the killing of a German policewoman and wounding of her colleague.
Credit: Beta Film
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Founding members of the NSU movement Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böhnhardt and Beate Zschäpe had been on the run since 1998 when their garage was searched by police, uncovering bomb making facilities. On November 4, 2011, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt would hold up their 14th bank in 12 years and later, cornered by police, would commit suicide and set their getaway vehicle alight. The third member, Beate Zschäpe, is currently on trial, but denies her involvement in the murders.
Just over 30km away from Jena, the hometown of the trio lies at the entrance to Buchenwald concentration camp. Lothar König, a youth pastor from the inner city parish of Jena, said: "History is repeating itself. You can see it happening again - it's hard to watch, it's hard to understand, so people look away. They would much rather spend their evenings in the pub, or zoning out in front of the telly."
If you like true crime series such as BBC2's Birmingham gangsters Peaky Blinders, Sky Atlantic's Italian mafia series Gomorrah or Netflix's documentary Making A Murderer and don't mind reading subtitles, this should be next on your list.
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Words Adam Broude
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