On the threshold of oblivion
Winner of the prestigious peace award at the Film festival of the independent film in Osnabrück Germany, this documentary investigates the historically very sensitive Nazi raid in the Dutch village of Putten in 1944 that left 700 villagers dead and murdered. After WWII only two of the 1000 involved German Soldiers of the infamous second pantzer division had been trialed or convicted. Even today German bureaucracy denies that severe warcrimes had taken place in Putten. On the threshold of Oblivion investigates the whereabouts of some of the absolved perpetrators and director Ton Verheul tries to interview them.
German war crimes
Germany committed war crimes in both World War I and World War II. The most notable of these is the Holocaust, where millions of people, of which 43% (6 million out of 14 million) were Jews, were murdered. However, millions also died as a result of other German actions like the raid in Putten.Social Interest
Germany’s response to its war crimes has been largely lauded by the former Allies. However, Germany is still criticized by some regarding its response, even within Germany itself. The German government never apologized for the invasions or took responsibility for World War II. Additionally, the emphasis for blame is often placed on individuals like Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party instead of the government or the majority of Germans themselves, so no restitution has been made to any other national government by Germany and/or on behave of its citizens. ‘Wir haben es nicht gewust’ (We didn’t know) is a phrase often heard in German apologies.Historical Interest
on December 7, 1970 social democratic Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt, while visiting a monument to the Nazi-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the then communist Peoples Republic of Poland, very surprisingly, and to all appearances spontaneously, knelt. In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act, and it is thought to be one of the reasons he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. In Germany however, Brandt’s action was heavily criticized by the press for being unpatriotic, which signifying Germany’s sensitivity and uneasiness with its wartime record.Germany’s WWII record today
In 2001 and 2004 The Hamburg Institute for Social Research presented its exhibition ‘Crimes of the German Wehrmacht: Dimensions of a War of Annihilation,(1941-1944)’. This exhibition was very controversial because it showed war crimes committed by Germany’s regular army (Der Whermacht) whose reputation was believed to be unspotted by the general public. The indignation and fierce discussions caused by the exhibition runs through ?On the threshold the oblivion like a continuous thread.
Germany committed war crimes in both World War I and World War II. The most notable of these is the Holocaust, where millions of people, of which 43% (6 million out of 14 million) were Jews, were murdered. However, millions also died as a result of other German actions like the raid in Putten.Social Interest
Germany’s response to its war crimes has been largely lauded by the former Allies. However, Germany is still criticized by some regarding its response, even within Germany itself. The German government never apologized for the invasions or took responsibility for World War II. Additionally, the emphasis for blame is often placed on individuals like Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party instead of the government or the majority of Germans themselves, so no restitution has been made to any other national government by Germany and/or on behave of its citizens. ‘Wir haben es nicht gewust’ (We didn’t know) is a phrase often heard in German apologies.Historical Interest
on December 7, 1970 social democratic Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt, while visiting a monument to the Nazi-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the then communist Peoples Republic of Poland, very surprisingly, and to all appearances spontaneously, knelt. In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act, and it is thought to be one of the reasons he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. In Germany however, Brandt’s action was heavily criticized by the press for being unpatriotic, which signifying Germany’s sensitivity and uneasiness with its wartime record.Germany’s WWII record today
In 2001 and 2004 The Hamburg Institute for Social Research presented its exhibition ‘Crimes of the German Wehrmacht: Dimensions of a War of Annihilation,(1941-1944)’. This exhibition was very controversial because it showed war crimes committed by Germany’s regular army (Der Whermacht) whose reputation was believed to be unspotted by the general public. The indignation and fierce discussions caused by the exhibition runs through ?On the threshold the oblivion like a continuous thread.
Controversy
Notwithstanding that the first and second of October are commemorated every year in Putten, the responsible Wehrmacht division still has frequent reunions in Germany. Although the raid in Putten was the most serious war crime committed by the German Wehrmacht in the Netherlands, surviving Wehrmacht soldiers are typically unapologetic about the affair, denying responsibility and blaming the SS (which was involved in a supporting role). The raids were a retaliatory measure for an attack by the local resistance, that eliminated one Wehrmacht officer near Nijkerk.
Scenes
- History on the Putten raid 1944 in short.
- In short, the director tells the history of the Putten raid by the Wehrmacht in the Dutch village Putten during the second world war, in 1944. Tthis terrible event is the main topic of this documentary ‘On the treshold of the great oblivion’.
- The eve of the Putten raid in 1944
- The Putten raid in 1944 by the German SS and Wehrmacht involved the killing of 7 people, setting fire to houses and the deportation of close to 600 men to war camps in Germany. The raid was a result of an ambush by a couple of Dutch resistance fighters.
- Information about Wehrmacht officer Fullriede given by his wife
- The director visits Carola Scheller, the wife of late Wehrmacht officer Fullriede who died ten years ago, to get more inormation about Fullriede and his role in the Putten raid during the second world war in the Netherlands. According to the woman, Fullriede prevented Putten from being destroyed totally. She also states that the deportation was the work of the SS and Fullriede had nothing to do with that.
- One of the survivors of the deportation talks about the life in the war camp in Ladelund
- Maarten Verheij is one of the few people who survived the Putten raid during the second world war in 1944. He was deported to a labour camp in Germany. In this clip, he talks about the horrible memories of the life at the camp in Ladelund.
- Annual commemoration ceremony for the victims of the war camp in Ladelund and memorial centre or the Putten raid
- Commemoration of the war camp in Ladelund, where the people from Putten were sent after the Putten raid by German troops during the second world war in 1944. The commemoration ceremony is being held annually in Ladelund, Germany. A lot of surviving dependants travel to Ladelund every year to attend to the ceremony. With them Beatrice de Graaf, a historian specialized in Germany, who promises the director of this documentary to help him on his research. They also visit the memorial centre in Putten together.
- Historian Kurowski about the Hermann Goring Division and his vision on what happened in Putten
- The German Franz Kurowski is historian of the Hermann Goring division. The director and historian Beatrice de Graaf visit him to talk about the Putten raid in Holland, during the second world war in 1944. Annoyed, Kurowski states that the Hermann Goring division has nothing to do with the raid.
- Annual reunion ceremony of the Hermann Goring Division
- This clip shows the annual reunion ceremony of the Hermann Goring division of the Wehrmacht in Munster. During the reunion in a restaurant, a couple of veterans were asked about the Putten raid in 1944, but they didn’t give new information.
- Visit at state attorney
- Maass, Dortmund’s state attorney, was in charge of the investigation of war crimes in Putten, Holland during the second world war. He states that he wasn’t able to track down all the perpetrators and some already died.
- Search for information about the Putten raid in an archive
- Die Zentralstelle zur Aufklarung von National-Sozialistischen Massenverbrachen in Ludwigsburg, Germany is the office doing all the investigations on German war crimes. The director hopes to find more clues about the Putten raid by the Wehrmacht in 1944. Unfortunately, a lot of data is protected or statute-barred.
- Exposition about and research on the Wehrmacht during the second world war by Heer
- Hannes Heer organized an exposition about the Wehrmacht during the second world war. He knows about the Putten raid by the Wehrmacht in Putten, Holland in 1944, because he did research on the Wehrmacht and the Hermann Goring division.. Heer acknowledges the fact that a lot of data on the German troops was given too late or not at all.
- Talk with German second world war veterans about the Putten raid in Panzer museum.
- Together with a group of German second world war veterans, the director and historian de Graaf visit the Panzer Museum in Munster, Deutschland. Some veterans believe that they protected Europe from a Russian invasion. They didn’t know anything about the Putten raid.
- Information from the Wehrmacht Auskunftstelle
- When visiting the Wehrmacht Auskunftstelle, information office about the Wehrmacht in Berlin for information on the Putten raid, the director and historian de Graaf get help from a clerk working there. All the files of the Hermann Goring division are in the depot, but according to privacy rules, they are not allowed to be looked in. In the end, the director accidentally stumbles across a paper with the name Albert Naumann and city Hamburg.
- Director visits SS veteran for information about the Putten raid
- Albert Naumann is a second world war veteran of the SS and was stationed near Putten during the time of the Putten raid. The director and historian de Graaf visit him and his wife in their home in Hamburg. At first, Naumann is reluctant to admit to have anything to do with the crimes in Putten. Finally, he tells what his role was during the deportation.