Conspiracy

This meeting is not taking place.

—Adolf Eichmann

A 2001 HBO/BBC TV film that dramatizes the story of the 1942 Wannsee Conference. It is an English-language adaptaion of Die Wannseekonferenze, a German film that tackled the same subject matter. Both films used the only surviving copy of the minutes of the meeting, which was found in the papers of Undersecretary Martin Luther, as the basis for their scripts. The purpose of this conference, attended by 15 of the highest officials in Nazi Germany, was to agree upon the methods and oversight for "a total solution to the Jewish question in Europe." At this meeting was thrashed out the details of what was to become the Holocaust, the systematic murder of between five and six million Jewish men, women and children.

The film is an examination of the psychology of genocide; the way in which those who were about to commit heinous war crimes rationalized their atrocities. It is perhaps unique in attempting to tell the human story of the Nazis who planned the Holocaust, and how they came to terms with what they felt they had to do. To help in this regard, actors were expected to remain both in-costume and in-character for each day of filming. Kenneth Branagh, who played Reinhard Heydrich, has said that filming Conspiracy was one of the most disturbing experiences of his acting career. The film was shot in ten minute takes, often requiring actors to memorize a large amount of script, using only one fixed set, and natural lighting. There is no soundtrack.

Ultimately, the film is a powerful examination of the "banality of evil" - how the conference attendees can casually discuss the extermination of millions one minute, then weigh up the merits of bratwurst vs oysters the next. The viewer is left to draw his own conclusions about the men involved.

The entire film can be found on YouTube. You can read more about the historical background to the film here. See the list of actors and personalities for info on the specific men involved.

Cast and Historical Personalities

Kenneth Branagh as Reinhard Heydrich: The SS Chief of Reich Security (Main Office) and Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, Heydrich serves as the main protagonist for the film. He has ultimate oversight over all matters relating to the Jewish question, and is the immediate subordinate to Heinrich Himmler. A ruthless and intelligent man, he spends much of the film threatening, flattering and cajoling to bring the ministries into line. He was killed by British-trained Czech commandos with an anti-tank grenade laced with botulinum poison in 1942.
Stanley Tucci as Adolf Eichmann: Immediate subordinate to Heydrich, and head of the SS Office for Jewish Affairs, Eichmann is the man tasked with arranging the meeting, and the final solution that arises from it. Eichmann takes the role of a dispassionate observer, frequently chiming in on Heydrich's side, and generally as a man with no purpose beyond ideology. He later became known as the "architect of the Holocaust". After the war, he fled to Argentina, where he was kidnapped by Mossad and taken to Israel, where he became the only man ever to executed by that country.
Colin Firth as Wilhelm Stuckart: State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of the Interior under Wilhelm Frick, Stuckart was author of the racist Nuremberg Laws. Argues for avoiding distress to German couples and prefers the sterilization and "natural extinction" of Jews to Heydrich's policy of extermination. During the film, he plays a highly adversarial role to Heydrich and Eichmann, at least until Heydrich explains a few things to him. He survived the war, was released from prison in 1949 and killed in a car accident in 1953.
Ian Mc Neice as Gerhard Klopfer: A fat, loud, arrogant and rude Nazi bigwig, he, as he constantly reminds everyone, speaks for Martin Bormann, the party chancellor. He does not get along well with Stuckart, whose insistence that everything be legal does not gel with Klopfer's idea that the Nazis make the laws they need on the spot. He shows more interest in the food than the Jews, and happily impersonates Jews being gassed. He was released after the war due to lack of evidence, becoming a tax advisor in Ulm. He died in 1987.
Kevin Mc Nally as Martin Luther: Undersecretary at the Nazi Foreign Office. Violently anti-semitic, he speaks for Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. He is prepared to go along with whatever Heydrich says, and generally tries to ingratiate himself with the SS. After a failed attempt to usurp his boss, Von Ribbentrop, he was sent to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, and died of a heart attack shortly after its liberation by the Red Army in 1945.
David Threfall as Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger, the Deputy Head of the Reich Chancellery under Hans Lammers. Kritzinger shares Stuckart's opposition to outright extermination, and is the only participants who come close to making a moral objection (in Real Life, Kritzinger was the only participant to express any remorse over his actions). Initially he takes at face value terms such as "evacuation" and "labour", before realizing their true nature. He attempted to resign after the Conference, but this was refused on unknown grounds. After the war, he declared himself ashamed of what he had done, and was released from Allied custody. He died in 1947.
Ewan Stewart as Georg Leibbrant: Part of the occupying administration for the Eastern Territories, Liebbrant is concerned for the situation the Eastern territories and for the connection between Communism and Judaism. He also discusses sterilization positively, but generally gives the impression that his main concern is the situation in the Ostministerium. After the war, he was interned, but released without trial in 1950. He emigrated to the USA that year, but later returned to Germany, dying in 1982 in Bonn.
Brian Pettifer as Alfred Meyer: A bespectacled, shrewish, man, Meyer is Nazi Gauleiter in charge of the General Government (a section of Poland that formed a subdivision to the Reich) and the expulsion of Jews and ethnic Poles from "German" territory, he is concerned about the possibility of epidemic among the ghettoes spreading to ethnic Germans. He does not care what is done about the Jews, as long as it is done fast. He committed suicide in 1945 when it became apparent that Germany was about to lose the war.
Nicholas Woodemann as Otto Hoffmann: Head of the SS Race and Settlement Office, Hoffmann is eager to contribute, though somewhat naive. He initially believes that the extermination is up for debate, preferring to put the Jews to work instead. He is taken ill during the conference, though he later returns. After the war, he was jailed for 6 years (from a 25 year sentence) for war crimes. He became a clerk in Bad Mergentheim, where he died in 1982.
Jonathon Coy as Erich Neumann: Director of the Office of the Four Year Plan, Neumann is subordinate to Hermann Goering, and thus has several tense moments with Klopfer. An eager careerist, Neumann bumbles around introducing himself with his Large Ham Title, to general apathy. He was interned by the Allies in 1945, but released in 1948 on the grounds of poor health. He died in 1951.
Brendan Coyle as Heinrich Mueller: Chief of the Gestapo, Mueller enthusiastically supports Heydrich and is part of the "inner circle" along with Heydrich and Eichmann. He is aware that the extermination of the Jews is the purpose of this meeting, and makes little comment, though he occasionally threatens Kritzinger and Stuckart, with varying degrees of success. He walked out of the Fuehrerbunker on May 1 1945 and was never seen again, dead or alive.
Ben Daniels as Josef Buehler: State Secretary of the General Goverment, Buehler is incredibly annoyed at the attempts by the SS to suborn his ministry, including building gassing facilities in Poland. Like Meyer, he is concerned about the possibility of disease, and insists that Poland must be "evacuated" before the Old Reich. Also like Meyer, he favours a speedy solution, whatever that may be. After the war, he was extradited to Poland and hanged in 1948.
Barnaby Kay as Rudolf Lange: The SS Officer in charge of SD forces in Latvia, Lange is haunted by the mass executions of Jews and urges the conference to find a new solution. He has presided over the execution of 250,000 Jews in Latvia. He is contemptuous of Eichmann and Heydrich's insistence on euphemisms, and urges a swift resolution to the question, and is pleased when one presents itself in the form of the gas chambers. He was last seen in Poznan in 1945, and it is believed he was either killed in action or committed suicide.
Owen Teale as Roland Friesler: Presiding Judge of the People's Court, representing the ministry of Justice. Friesler is in favour of the murder of Jews. Racist even by Nazi standards, he does not take the meeting especially seriously after the murder of Jews is decided upon - thereafter, his dialogue is limited to joking about how inferior Jews and Germans are. He was killed in a USAF bombing raid in 1945, when one of the pillars of his court building fell and crushed him.
Pete Sullivan as Karl Eberhard Schoengarth: A young, arrogant and careerist SD Officer assigned to the General Goverment of Poland. Schoengarth has been working behind Buehler and Meyer's backs in order to develop extermination facilities across the General Government. They are not pleased. He is an enthusiastic supported of Heydrich and Eichmann, and in favour of extermination. Like Friesler, he does not take the meeting very seriously, and makes wisecracks about murdering the Jews. He was captured by the Allies, charged with the murder of a downed Allied airman and hanged by the British in 1945.

Tropes seen in Conspiracy include:

Above Good and Evil: Most of the Nazis think this way. Stuckart and Kritzinger are notable exceptions - Kritzinger thinks that mass-murder is a step too far, whilst Stuckart believes in the total supremacy of the law above all else, even if the law is insane.
Adolf Hitler: Not actually present in the film, but der Fuehrer casts a long shadow over the plot and cast.
Ambition Is Evil: The desire for promotion and advancement is a central motivation behind many characters and part of the reason they go along with Heydrich and Eichmann.
Amoral Attorney: Several characters are either lawyers or Justice Ministry officials.
Ambiguously Jewish: There is a rumour floating around that Heydrich is part Jewish. Both Klopfer and Mueller comment on it, though Mueller advises Klopfer not to bring it up in front of Reinhard.
Argentina Is Naziland: Eichmann flees to Argentina after the war.
Badass Boast: Subverted. Whilst many of the Nazis do get some great lines, especially during the inter service rivalry, none of them actually raise the standing of the characters in the audience's eyes one bit, nor are the speakers Badass in the least:

Neumann: Neumann, Director, Office of the Four Year Plan.

Klopfer: Klopfer, Party Chancellery. Of the Thousand Year Plan.

- And:

Klopfer: I'll remember you.

Stuckart: You should, I'm very well known.

Bad Boss: Played with. When one of the waiters drops a plate in front of Eichmann everyone craps themselves, only for Eichmann to order him to pay for it himself. However, it is made clear by the servants' body language that working for Eichmann is not pleasant. Later on, Eichmann threatens to have someone sent to the Russian front.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: This is a large part of how Heydrich and Eichmann see themselves, and is part of the pitch they give to the other Nazis. Most agree, some don't.
Berserk Button: Several.
- Dr Stuckart really does not like it when people (especially Klopfer) interrupt him.
- Mueller makes it clear to Klopfer that bringing up Heydrich's Jewish ancestry to his face would be an extremely poor idea.
- Buehler and Meyer are furious when they find out that Schoengarth and the SS have been building death camps behind their back.
- Eichmann is incredibly angry when the SS drivers are found having a snowball fight outside. He feels this conduct is unbecoming of SS men, and threatens to have them sent to the Russian front.
- Being Evil Sucks: Kritzinger feels this way by the end of the film:

Kritzinger: It is night in Moscow already. Soon it will be dark here. Will any of us live to see the dawn?

Big Bad: Heydrich.
Bigger Bad: Hitler and the top Nazis.
But Not Too Jewish: Much of the discussion is taken up with what to do with Jews who are married to Germans or who are the product of mixed marriages.
But for Me It Was Tuesday: For most of the participants, especially those who made no moral objections, the events of the film are just one more meeting in a very busy week.
But You Screw One Goat: Russians, according Roland Friesler:

Friesler: As long as he has a bottle of vodka to suck and some form of domesticated animal to fuck, the Russian doesn't care who rules him.

Butt Monkey: Nobody takes Erich Neumann seriously apart from Erich Neumann.
Deadly Decadent Court: The Nazi hierarchy is portrayed this way, with various power struggles and threats bringing their fallout to the table.
Deadly Euphemism: "Evacuation" "Removal" "Resettlement in the East" are all euphemisms for "systematically murder." Lange, Kritzinger and Stuckart object to this.
Dirty Communists: The Nazis see Communism in general this way.
Dirty Old Man: Klopfer lusts after the "pretty little maid" at the Wannsee Villa. Other Nazis, upon hearing about a new sterilization injection, ask where they can get it, as it would be "useful with the ladies." Luther points out that you wouldn't need the injection, just the papers to say you had had it.
The Dragon: Eichmann and Mueller to Heydrich, Heydrich is one himself to Himmler.
- Dragon Ascendant: Heydrich is heavily implied to be increasing his power at Himmler's expense.
- Dragon Their Feet: Heydrich is (deliberately) late.
Eagle Land: America's entry into the war is a subject for discussion amongst the chief Nazis, and the "clever Americans" are mentioned as pioneering the assembly line, which the Nazis are now going to put to a different use.
Ensemble Cast: Several distinguished names in British T.V and Hollywood are there:
- Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich
- Ian Mc Niece as Klopfer
- Stanley Tucci as Eichmann
- Colin Firth as Stuckart
Evil Brit: Everyone except Eichmann (who is played by the American Stanley Tucci) has a British accent.
Even Evil Has Standards: Kritzinger and Stuckart both feel that the Nazis are going too fast - Stuckart argues for the rule of law whilst Kritzinger feels outright murder is a step too far.
Evil Gloating: Schoengarth gives a contemptuous wink to Buehler and Meyer when they confront him about undermining them.
Expository Narration: Very briefly, at the beginning.
Fascist but Inefficient: The Nazis spend much of the film squabbling about very petty matters of jurisdiction.
Fat Bastard: Klopfer is enormous, and piles his plate with food before walking back to the conference table after lunch.
Final Solution: Obviously.
Five Bad Band:
- Big Bad: Heydrich.
- The Dragon: Eichmann.
- The Evil Genius: Mueller.
- The Brute: Schoengarth.
- The Dark Chick: Martin Luther fits the spirit, if not the letter of this trope.
Forced Into Evil: Stuckart and Kritzinger are threatened with "attention" from the SS if they do not play along.
Hanging Judge: Friesler is president of the People's Court and is totally cool with the mass-murder of millions and execution of dissidents.
Incredibly Lame Pun: Played for Drama, horrifically: "The Jews go in [to the gas chamber] red and come out pink - I call that progress!"
Industrialized Evil: The planning and practical execution of industrialized evil is the central event of the film.
Interservice Rivalry: Much of the tension at the table is provided by the rivalry between the SS, the Party Chancellery, the General Government, the Interior and Justice Ministries and the Office of the Four Year Plan.
Its All About Me: Many of the Nazis have a heightened sense of when they are being wronged, but are too sure of their supposed racial superiority to care about anyone else. Heydrich in particular is noted for his commanding arrogance and insistent hedonism.
Kangaroo Court: Friesler runs one.
Kenneth Branagh: Has the lead role.
Kick the Dog: The whole film is the planning of dog-kicking on an industrial scale.
Laughably Evil: Klopfer, Schoengarth and Friesler make several jokes over the course of the film. They make the other Nazis laugh, but not the audience.
Lean and Mean: Buehler is rather thin.
Malevolent Mugshot: The promotional material featured one of Eichmann and Heydrich.
Married to The Job: Eichmann is famous for this.
Master Race: The Nazis are all firm believers in this.
Moral Myopia: Towards anyone who isn't from the above.
Nazi Germany: You don't say!
Nazi Protagonist: Ditto:
Nazis With Gnarly Weapons: The Wehrmacht is mentioned, though not seen. Most of the SS men have a low opinion of it. General von Reichenau's heart attack is mentioned as well.
No Delays for The Wicked: Averted. The meeting is all about how to overcome delays and administrative problems in administering the final solution.
Not Even Bothering With the Accent: Only minor characters attempt a German accent. All the Nazis at the table speak with their native accent, although Stanley Tucci tones down his New York accent slightly.
Not So Different: Heydrich mocks Kritzinger's reluctance to back the extermination programs by saying that Kritzinger's own solution of restricting and isolating the Jews through race laws is little better.
Obliviously Evil: Many of the Nazis simply cannot comprehend how any of their actions could possibly be immoral.
Peer Pressure Makes You Slightly More Evil: Eventually, even those who objected to the extermination program are coerced into giving it active support.
Piggybacking On Hitler: Heydrich.
Politically Incorrect Villian: Many of the participants toss around "the Tribe" "Yids" and "scum" when referring to the Jews. Their attitudes towards woman are not particularly enlightened either.
Putting On the Reich: All the SS and Party men wear snappy uniforms. Averted with the civilians, who just wear lounge suits, although Buehler is sure to keep his party badge prominently displayed.
Ravens and Crows: Are heard at the beginning of the film.
Secret Police: Mueller is head of the Gestapo.
Snow Means Death: Justified. The conference took place in February, and it really was snowing.
State Sec: The film revolves around the trope codifier.
The Starscream: Schoengarth seems to do everything to antagonize and undermine Meyer and Buehler's running of Poland and then mocks them in front of everyone when they find out.
- Heydrich is implied to have designs on Himmler's job.
Straight Edge Evil: Eichmann.
Scullery Maid: Wannsee House has one, whose boyfriend picks her up on his bike at the end of the film. Klopfer lusts after her.
Tested On Humans: The Zyklon-B gas they plan to use has already been used on the terminally ill, the hereditary disabled and some Jews.
Those Wacky Nazis: Everyone is a member of the Nazi party or an official of one of the subordinate German ministries.
Truth in Television: Most of the film. Unfortunately.
Utopia Justifies the Means: Again, this is how the Nazis express themselves, and how they rationalize what they are planning to do. Obviously, the world they want to create is less than Utopian:

From Oslo to Lisbon, from Vladivostok to Belfast, no Jews.

Villain Cred: Heydrich has a lot. Neumann would like some, but generally fails miserably.
Villain Protagonist: Everyone, essentially, but especially Heydrich and Eichmann.
Would Be Rude to Say Genocide: The words "extermination" are almost never used, and are not written down as such by the secretary. Instead, everything is couched in euphemisms and