Ruth Beckermann’s film is part of the 22nd UK Jewish Film Festival in Manchester and will be screened at HOME on Monday 19th November, 6.10pm followed by a Q&A with the director.

The film documents the process of uncovering former UN Secretary-General and Austrian Federal President Kurt Waldheim’s wartime past. It shows the swift succession of new allegations by the World Jewish Congress during his Austrian presidential campaign, the denial by the Austrian political class, the outbreak of anti-Semitism and patriotism, which finally led to his election. Created from international archive material and what Beckermann shot at the time, the film analyses the collapse of the Austrian grand illusion: having been the first victim of the Nazis.