Directed by Norberto Barba
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn, Peter M. Lenkov, & Barbie Kligman
"Yahrzeit" is the 22nd episode of Season 5 and the 114th overall. It originally aired April 29, 2009.
While investigating a murder, the CSI team expose some Neo-Nazis, apprehend a war criminal, and discover an heirloom stolen from a Jewish family during the Holocaust - which they are able to return.
Tropes for the episode:
- Accent Relapse: A man pretending to be Jewish reverts to his native German, complete with accent, when confronted with his war crimes.
- Artistic License – History: When Mac is discussing the human-skin lampshades of Buchenwald, he says that they were made from the tattooed skin of Jewish camp prisoners. However, most Jewish people don't have tattoos because their traditions prohibit them. Most of the tattoos for the Buchenwald lampshades instead came from the skin of Romani people, who were also imprisoned in the concentration camps.
- Auction: The episode opens with a murder during an auction. As the case unfolds, one of the pieces being offered is discovered to have been stolen from a Jewish family during the Holocaust.
- Bookcase Passage: A closet Neo-Nazi keeps his horde of Holocaust memorabilia behind a bookcase that slides in front of the entrance. Mac & Flack find it after Mac notices scratch marks on the floor.
- Chekhov's Gun: Abraham Klein's tattoo, Esther Schnitzler's journal and Hannah's testimony are all a lot more important than they first appear.
- Content Warnings: Due to the subject matter of the Holocaust and a number of racial slurs uttered by the Neo-Nazi character understandably being quite disturbing to some viewers.
- Creepy Red Herring: Blatant racist Neo-Nazi Michael Elgers is a suspect once more. However, his alibi checks out, yet again.
- Death Glare: Klaus Braun at the end of his interview. When Mac points out that men from the Israeli government have identified him as a wanted war criminal, he glares at the one-way mirror.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Abraham Klein, or should we say... Nazi Klaus Braun posing as a Holocaust survivor.
- Disowned Parent: When Klein's Orthodox Jewish son David realizes everything the man is guilty of, he quietly turns and walks away as his father, who is calling out his name, is being led to a cell. While unconfirmed, it's possible he was with the others viewing his father's interrogation and heard him say, "We should have killed them (the Jews) all."
- Ending Memorial Service: Hannah, Esther's cousin, lights a candle to not only celebrate the return of the family broach but to honour her dead relatives and Mac's father.
- Evil Stole My Faith: Alluded to twice in the episode.
- Abraham Klein claims that his experience during the Holocaust robbed him of his Jewish faith. This turns out to be a lie, as he never practiced it.
- Later played straight by a true Holocaust survivor who says that the soldier (Mac's father) who rescued him by carrying him out of the camp from which he was liberated and who gave him a Hershey bar to eat "put back some of the faith I had lost. My grandchildren put back the rest."
- Evil Versus Evil: The victim and the murderer are a Neo-Nazi and and a WWII Nazi, respectively.
- Genocide Survivor: Mac is shown a video of a woman recounting her days in a concentration camp, during which her cousin's entire family had been executed. Later, he is sent a video of a man telling the story of his rescue by Mac's father from the camp in which he had been imprisoned. The episode ends with Mac visiting the woman to return a broach of her niece's that had been evidence in the case at hand.
- Genuine Human Hide: A lampshade confiscated as evidence is made from human skin.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Ernst Braun, Klaus's long dead father. He was an SS engineer who helped build Auschwitz's crematoria. It was presumably him who got Klaus into the Hitler Youth.
- Guns Do Not Work That Way: Sid states that jacketed bullets are designed to penetrate armor, which is not true. An armor piercing round requires a hard core, like steel or tungsten.
- Heel–Faith Turn: At the end of the episode, Mac watches the testimony of a Holocaust survivor who was saved by his father. In his testimony, the man admits that his cruel treatment at the hands of the Nazis robbed him of his faith. However, the kindness Mac's father showed when he rescued him (giving him his coat and something to eat) caused the man to rethink his stance. He then happily admits that his grandchildren were able to restore the rest.
- Honor Thy Parent: After getting back the broach, Hannah says she plans to light a candle in honour of her relatives. She invites Mac to join her, asking if there is anyone he would like to honour as well. There is...Mac: My father.
- Irony: A Neo-Nazi is killed by an actual Nazi.
- Like Father, Like Son:
- The murderer's father was a member of the Nazi Party back in the 1930s and 40s. His son followed in his footsteps.
- His own son later took up his profession as a clockmaker and adopted Judaism in honour of his family's "legacy" despite Abraham's "loss of faith". Unlike his father however, David is a good person and after learning the truth, he disowns his father but continues to practice Judaism.
- Monochrome Past: Flashbacks to WWII are shown in sepia tones.
- Nazi Grandpa: The WWII Nazi is now an elderly man planning to retire.
- Pluto Is Expendable: Zigzagged by Sid. During the autopsy, he finds 8 tattooed dots forming a square on the victim and shows them to Mac. As the two ponder what they could mean, Sid suggests they could represent the planets, but then adds, "'Course to me there'll always be nine; I'm kinda partial to Pluto."
- Red Herring: The Neo-Nazi suspect from "Green Piece" is a suspect in this case as well, but turns out not to be the killer... again.
- Secret Test of Character: Hawkes considers his meeting with Elgers to be a test from his recently deceased uncle. Despite everything the latter says, Hawkes maintains his composure and focuses on doing his job. Danny, on the other hand, does not take kindly to Elgers insulting his friend and lashes out.
- Smooch of Victory: Mac personally visits Hannah, Esther's cousin, to return the family broach Klaus Braun took. When she receives it, she thanks him with a kiss on the forehead.
- Spiteful Spit: When Sheldon accompanies Danny to question the racist Neo-Nazi, the guy spits on Sheldon and calls him a dog — prompting Danny to knock him down and punch him repeatedly.
- Suddenly Shouting: This happens at the very end of Klaus Braun's interview when the Nazi glares hatefully at the men on the other side of the window. Mac, who has listened to first-hand testimony of what this man did to an innocent family over sixty years ago, is clearly pissed but has nevertheless managed to hold his temper. At the very end of the interview though, he shouts:Mac: You have something to say, Braun? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Danny is suspended for attacking Elgers, even though the man in question deserved it for saying hateful things about Hawkes and spitting on him.
- Tattoo as Character Type: Zig-zagged. Klaus Braun has what appears to be a concentration camp tattoo on his arm, but it was really part of his elaborate hoax, pretending to be Jewish to escape prosecution after the war. But, the Neo-Nazi has "white power" in all caps across the front of his neck and a large swastika on the back of his shaved head.
- Teens Are Monsters: Klaus was a member of Hitler Youth, having been a teenager when he betrayed the Schnitzlers.
- Terminology Title: It's a Hebrew ceremony marking the anniversary of a loved one's death.
- Title Drop: Hannah asks Mac if he knows what "Yahrzeit" is and when he replies, "Tell me," she explains the ceremony and invites him to participate.
- Those Wacky Nazis: There are three flavors here - an original who is a WWII criminal in hiding, a Neo-Nazi skinhead street punk, and an apparently honorable businessman keeping his Nazi affiliation secret.
- The Unmasking: Happens to both Xander Green and Abraham Klein.
- During Xander's autopsy, Sid notices a strange tattoo on his shoulder. Eight dots, which form a perfect square. They initially struggle to figure out their meaning. Mac realises what it is after learning that the victim was an associate of Elgers'.
- Later after recognising Esther's broach from the auction, Mac, remembering Hannah's testimony, says that the piece of jewelry went missing after it was given to a Hitler Youth member named Klaus Braun. This in turn leads to a "Eureka!" Moment when he isolates and ages an image of the youth in question, which he then compares to a photograph of Abraham Klein. They are identical.
- Last but not least, Mac interviews the hidden Nazi in question. Braun feigns innocence, but Mac has a huge amount of evidence to prove that he is not the victim he made himself out to be. Even worse for Braun, Ben and other officials from the Israeli government, who have studied his case (and many others) countless times, take one look at him and confirm his identity as Klaus Braun.
- Wham Line: There are several, but the ones that stick out happen at the end of the episode.
- The first is when Mac figures out that Abraham Klein is the wanted World War II criminal, Klaus Braun. Klein himself denies this, but ultimately, he confirms it by saying something so sinister that it leaves both the ambassadors and the detectives disgusted.Braun: [speaks German]Ben: [quietly translating on the other side of the interrogation room window] "We should have killed them all."
- A more positive one happens following Klaus' arrest. One of the Israeli ambassadors sends Mac an email with a note saying "Thought you'd want to see this". Said video is a testimony from a Holocaust survivor, who recounts how an American soldier rescued him from the concentration camps. At the very end of the story, the woman giving the interview asks if he remembers the man's name. He does...The Survivor: Taylor. Private McCanna Boyd Taylor.(Mac chokes up as he realises the man he's talking about is *his* father.)
- The first is when Mac figures out that Abraham Klein is the wanted World War II criminal, Klaus Braun. Klein himself denies this, but ultimately, he confirms it by saying something so sinister that it leaves both the ambassadors and the detectives disgusted.
- Wipe the Floor with You: A variation. Mac clears a table with the Neo-Nazi punk while apprehending him.
