Catherine Bernstein: T4 – Un médecin sous le nazis

I know the French director Catherine Bernstein from the Paris-based European training programme Archidoc and from several of her awarded documentaries. She is a master in dealing with archive material, which is so brilliantly demonstrated in this film that will be broadcast in France (FR3) tomorrow monday February 29.

I received a vimeo link fra Catherine Bernstein, watched the film and wrote some notes to her: ”Dear Catherine. I saw the film. It is based on an impressive research, it tells a terrible story that I had never heard before, it raises the eternal question about “guilt” (“did you examine your conscious”, you ask the doctor), yes, you tell it addressing the scientist who “knew nothing”, I was “hooked” from the start – and it is a scoop to have childrenreading/translating the texts and figures. Bravo – and hope you get a good audience Monday!

I have copy-pasted the promotion texts of the film, an English and a French version – they are different:

Entre 1939 et 1945, le docteur Julius Hallervorden a contribué à l’assassinat des malades mentaux ordonné par Hitler. Le médecin a récupéré 690 cerveaux de victimes pour ses recherches sur les pathologies mentales. Malgré cela, Julius Hallervorden a poursuivi une brillante carrière après guerre, sans jamais être inquiété.

Le documentaire suit, pas à pas, la carrière de ce neurologue réputé qui, au nom de la science, participa à un meurtre de masse afin d’accélérer ses recherches médicales personnelles. Le parcours de ce médecin est intimement lié à celui de l’opération dite «T4», consistant à éliminer les handicapés physiques et mentaux et les personnes considérées comme inutiles et «asociales» par le régime nazi.

(The synopsis of FR3 that distributes monday February 29 at 22.25)

This documentary recounts his story and through the man’s story,that of the so-called “Action T4”, which consisted of eliminating physical and mental disabilities and those people considered by the Nazi regime to be useless or “asocial”. Doctor Julius Hallervorden, a major name in the science of brain pathology, first benefited from, then contributed to the systematic assassination ordered by Hitler of German mentally ill persons, by recovering the brains of 690 victims. He nevertheless pursued a brilliant post-war career, in all impunity, and died covered in honours. Between 1939 and 1945, at least 200,000 ill people were assassinated

(From the catalogue of the sales company, arte tv.)

France, 2014, 53 mins.