This poignant, thought-provoking account of friendship and the toll of inherited guilt, explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of former high-ranking Nazi officials found guilty of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials.

What if your father was a Nazi? Someone found to be collectively responsible for thousands of deaths and a consultant to Hitler himself? This is the harrowing question facing Niklas Frank, whose father was executed after being found guilty of war crimes, and Horst von Wächter, whose father operated in occupied Poland.

While researching the origin of international laws, eminent human rights lawyer Phillipe Sands’ encounter with Niklas and Horst was the starting point from which a gripping conversation emerges. A conversation that as well as exploring the complicated connection between the two men and their opposing views on the fathers who raised them, also delves into the story of Sands’ own grandfather who escaped the same town where the men’s fathers carried out mass killings.

Bringing new meaning to ‘the ties that bind’ this brilliant documentary provides a unique view of the father-son relationship, examining the sins of their fathers by striping away at title and rank to explore the character lying underneath those infamous criminals, their patriarchal influence, and the price of forgiveness.

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