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Hitler and the Nazis Evil on Trial: Cast Roles, Plot, Release Details & More
Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial debuted on the streamer to explore the rise and fall of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and the eventual Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity during WWII.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details of murder and violence, which could be triggering for some readers.
Netflix’s latest documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger, best known for his projects on true crime, travels in time to delve into the grim era of the Third Reich, Nazi Germany. Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial debuted on the streamer to explore the rise and fall of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and the eventual Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity during WWII.
When is the release date?
Joe Berlinger’s six-part docuseries, Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial premiered on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
According to Variety, Berlinger is in a multi-year contract deal with Netflix. His inspiration behind Evil on Trial stems from his “obsession with German history” while also embracing his ethnicity as a Jewish man.
The historical documentary is a follow-up to filmmaker Berlinger’s Conversations with a Killer series, that showcase stories and real footage of serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy.
Who are the cast members?
Berlinger did not want Evil on Trial to be like every other historical newsreel featuring talking heads over black-and-white grainy footage, per Variety. Therefore, he tried to narrate the course of events of the Third Reich through re-enactments, real footage, AI, and the perspective of journalist William L. Shirer, who authored The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
The actors include Károly Kozma as Adolf Hiter, Balázs Kató as William Shirer, Lajos Széll Horváth as Joseph Goebbels, Barnabás Bergendi as Rudolf Hess, István Czira as Alfred Rosenberg, Gábor Sótonyi as Hermann Göring, Imre Csók as Erich von Manstein, Soma Zámbori as Joachim Von Ribbentrop and others.
The interviewees who feature in the documentary sharing real-life insights and recollections of events are historian Francine Hirsch, professor Devin Pendas, author of Warsaw 1944, Alexandra Richie, historian Christian Goeschel, Benjamin Carter Hett, Richard J. Evans, Tiffany N. Florvil, Omer Bartov, Deirdre van Dyk and Nicole Eaton among others, per The Direct.
However, the filmmaker marks Shirer’s inclusion as what would set Evil on Trial apart from other similar projects. “We found an eyewitness in the form of William L. Shirer – as one of the only American journalists in Germany at the time, Shirer had a front-row seat to Hitler’s rise to power,” Berlinger said.
Evil on Trial is produced by Smuggler Entertainment.
What is the plot of Hilter and the Nazis: Evil on Trial?
Evil on Trial is particularly based on the Eastern Front of World War II and throughout its six-hour span, it presents realistic re-enactments and interviews from historians and eye-witnesses of the Third Reich in Germany.
While Hitler and the Nazis’ crimes against humanity are known to the world, the documentary will also highlight the fall of the Nazi empire with a focus on the Nuremberg trials where Nazi leaders, guilty of spreading propaganda, censorship, and the antisemitism campaign, were tried for their gruesome crimes in Europe and against the Jews.
The official logline for the documentary reads, "This gripping docuseries examines Adolf Hitler and the Nazis' rise, rule, and reckoning from pre-WWII to the Holocaust to the Nuremberg trials."
Berlinger was encouraged to make the series following a 2018 study that said two-thirds of millennials were unaware of Auschwitz. The study was put together by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Why did Joe Berlinger decide to make Evil on Trial?
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Joe Berlinger is embedded in the true-crime sphere of the film industry. Almost all of his former works range from projects on serial killers to murder mysteries.
However, his latest take on Nazi Germany's history transpired from some Holocaust liberation footage he had once seen during his teenage years. He told Variety, “After seeing this footage, I became obsessed with the idea that had I been born in that era, I would have been rounded up and murdered.”
Berlinger pursued his passion for history and got a German major in college and learned the language as well. He eventually moved to Frankfurt to work in an ad agency that introduced him to the art of filmmaking.
Elsewhere in the interview, the filmmaker shared his belief in retelling the story during this era to remind and educate the current generation on the evils of World War II and especially, Nazi Germany. He reflected on the political situation in the U.S. right now and spoke of the rise in antisemitism and authoritarianism lurking against the backdrop of a challenged democracy in the country.
All six episodes of Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial is now available to stream on Netflix.
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