Die Mission (1967)

Synopsis

Summer 1938: renowned Viennese surgeon Professor von Benda is summoned by Gauleiter Seyss-Inquart to attend the Evian Conference on Jewish refugees. Disguised as a loyal Nazi physician, von Benda’s “mission” is to propose that participating nations purchase German Jews for 250 Reichsmark each, ostensibly saving them from deportation. Over ten days in Evian-les-Bains, von Benda navigates tense negotiations with diplomats and relief workers, confronting the moral abyss behind his government’s plan. As alliances form and falter around him, he watches the fates of refugees - and of Europe itself - unfold without judgment, bearing witness to a tragedy that history cannot forget.