The Palmnicken Tragedy

Andrei Proskuryakov’s documentary delves into a profound examination and contemplation of the events that transpired on January 31, 1945. On that day, the Nazis perpetrated a large-scale execution of approximately 3,000 prisoners from the Stutthof concentration camp on the shores of the Baltic Sea, near the village of Palmnicken in East Prussia. The film is meticulously structured around three pivotal individuals: Martin Bergau, a former Hitler Youth member who was connected to the tragedy; Gunther Nitsch, a German-American writer whose grandfather was involved in exhuming the victims» bodies; and Simcha Koplowicz, the son of Sheva Koplowicz, a survivor of the massacre. Through these characters, the documentary meticulously examines the historical silence that surrounded this tragedy and endeavors to reveal the unvarnished truth surrounding the event.