"The Zone of Interest": A Chilling Portrayal of Nazi Life Next to Auschwitz

The upcoming film "The Zone of Interest" depicts the chillingly normal family life of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau, just outside the death camp where over a million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The film focuses on Höss's domestic life with his wife and children, portraying scenes of everyday activities in stark contrast to the mass slaughter he directed. The film, directed by Jonathan Glazer, does not show scenes inside Auschwitz but instead reveals the horrifying mundanity of family life near the death camp. Rudolf Höss, responsible for overseeing the physical extermination of Europe's Jews, lived in relative domestic bliss just 150 meters from the crematorium's chimney, where bodies were burnt to ashes.