The Zone of Interest

Plots: The commandant of Auschwitz and his wife strive to build a dream life for their family in a house next to the camp. German-occupied Poland, summer of 1943. More than anything, Hedwig, an indefatigable mother of five, wants to keep her well-organised life as is. After all, she has worked her fingers to the bone to create a fragrant slice of paradise to raise her children, and nothing will change that. If only her husband, the distinguished SS officer and Auschwitz commander Rudolf Hoess, weren’t always burdened by his duties. But perfection is a fleeting illusion. As the oblivious life of the commandant’s wife unravels in cloudless bliss, Rudolf finds himself swamped with work, saddled with testing a new ventilation design and overseeing the installation of a highly effective Topf and Sons multi-muffle, non-stop incineration oven system. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine that just a hair’s breadth away from the peaceful and idyllic Höss household, the unimaginable horrors of the Final Solution were unfolding in full swing. And as noisome fumes and muffled, blood-curdling noises blemish Hedwig’s verdant utopia, a question emerges. When evil becomes banal and apathy requires no effort, what separates man from beast? For Rudolf Hoss, life is good. He lives in a big house in the country with his wife and five children, whom he dotes on. He has several servants. He has his dream job and is very good at it, leading a very large team and garnering praise from peers and superiors alike. His job? He’s the commandant at Auschwitz concentration camp.