The Eichmann Show is a 2015 TV film that dramatizes the trial of Adolf Eichmann
for his crimes as one of the architects of the Holocaust, using documentary footage from the actual trial and newly-filmed footage using actors to stand in for the people involved. Eichmann's trial was the first to be shown on live television, and the first truly global documentary, making it a turning point for television and the media in general as well as for the public's understanding of the Holocaust.
The film details both the technical difficulties the documentary team faced (such as developing a new system of cameras so that they would not be visible and distract anyone and the security measures needed to protect them from fanatical Nazis who wanted to interfere,) and the personally harrowing experience of dealing with such traumatic material. In particular, the director Leo's personal obsession with trying to understand how a human being could end up committing such atrocities brings him into conflict with the producer Milton's greater interest in making the trial accessible to as many viewers as possible so the Nazi atrocities are not forgotten.
Martin Freeman plays Milton Fruchtman, producer of the broadcast. Anthony LaPaglia plays Leo Hurwitz, the TV director sidelined by the Hollywood blacklist that Fruchtman hires to direct the broadcast.
This work contains examples of:
- Battle of Wits: Between Eichmann and Attorney General Hausner during the cross-examination. Eichmann is very good at evading questions and avoiding either admitting his own involvement or stating that he considered the actions of other Nazis to be criminal and thus incriminate himself. Eventually, Hausner gets him to crack, but even Milton has to acknowledge "whatever else he might be, this is not a stupid man."
- Crusading Lawyer: Hausner deliberately arranged for as much material on the Holocaust to appear in court as possible (hundreds of documents and 112 witnesses presented over the course of 56 days, and it would have been a lot more if Eichmann's attorney hadn't argued that it was irrelevant to Eichmann's individual guilt), so that the trial would stand as a comprehensive record of the entire extermination, not just the personal trial of one man. He is also utterly relentless in getting Eichmann to acknowledge that he organised the death march to Budapest.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Non-romantic example; Mrs Landau, (the landlady of Leo's hotel and a Holocaust survivor,) is bad-tempered and unpleasant to him at first, but she later makes it clear to him how much his work means to her and other survivors, as people are finally listening to them.
- Foregone Conclusion: The trial is successfully broadcast and Eichmann is convicted and executed.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Eichmann wears glasses and appears to be entirely without conscience.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: On one hand, Leo keeps the cameras focussed on Eichmann to catch a flicker of guilt, because he cannot believe that anyone could do what Eichmann did without feeling guilty. On the other hand, Milton is also a good guy, but is not surprised that Eichmann doesn't react, as he always assumed that he was simply a monster.
- Good Versus Good: Leo and Milton get into some pretty heated arguments over how best to broadcast the material, and their disagreement is in some ways the central conflict of the film. However, both of them are most definitely good guys, and neither is shown to be particularly right or wrong.
- Heroic BSoD: Several characters end up unable to cope with the material they're witnessing, especially the member of the team who is a survivor himself.
- Leo has one when Eichmann fails to react to the footage from the camps, as he had steadfastly refused to believe that anyone could be truly devoid of conscience or humanity.
- Industrialized Evil: Looking and acting like an unassuming bureaucrat, Eichmann had the terms "banality of evil" and "desk murderer" coined for him by historians.
- Intrepid Reporter: The entire production team could qualify for this, as their lives are very much in danger from fanatics, not to mention the emotionally devastating experience of dealing with such a horrific subject.
- Just Following Orders: Naturally, this excuse is used by Eichmann, and naturally it is completely rejected.
- Lack of Empathy: Eichmann doesn't react at all to the horrific things he did and is accused of doing, much to Leo's incredulity.
- Reality Is Unrealistic: The atrocities beggar belief to such an extent that many people didn't believe the stories until the trial was broadcast. Mrs Landau states that when she was first asked (even by other Jews) about what happened, she wasn't believed because her story was too horrible to be possible. It wasn't until the trial broadcast full details of the atrocities and showed compiled footage of the camps that people truly listened to her.
- The Sociopath: The term isn't used, but Eichmann's total lack of reaction to the entire trial (including, most tellingly, the actual footage from the camps,) makes this seem likely. Leo, whose reason for taking part was specifically to find the humanity in the mass murderer, finds himself stumped.
- The Stoic: At first, Leo thinks that Eichmann is simply covering his guilt very well, and has a Heroic BSoD when forced to realise that maybe Eichmann truly doesn't feel anything.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Eichmann hardly looks like a monster.
- Truth in Television: Plenty, and with lots of footage from the actual trial to prove it.
