While Hans Jürgen Höss had a happy childhood playing with toys at this family’s villa, on the other side of the wall Jewish cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was playing for her life. Now, eight decades later, Höss, the son of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss, and Lasker-Wallfisch meet face-to-face with their children to discuss generational trauma, grief, guilt, and forgiveness. A further look into the real-life events that inspired the Academy Award-winning film “The Zone of Interest,” the documentary “The Commandant's Shadow” premieres on Thursday, July 18 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and can watch with Subscription to Max.
How to Watch “The Commandant’s Shadow”
- When: Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 9 p.m. ET
- TV: HBO
- Stream: Watch with a Subscription to Max.
About “The Commandant’s Shadow”
Directed, written, and produced by Daniela Völker, “The Commandant’s Shadow” looks closer at the real-life events that inspired the recent Oscar-winning film “The Zone of Interest.”
The new documentary from Warner Bros. and HBO Documentary Films follows, Hans Jürgen Höss, the 87-year-old son of Rudolf Höss, the camp commandant of Auschwitz, as he faces his father’s depraved and terrible legacy. While he enjoyed a happy childhood at the family villa within the concentration camp, on the other side of the wall, Jewish cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was playing for her life to survive. Now, eight decades later, the pair come face-to-face in Anita’s London living room with their children to “explore their very different hereditary burdens,” exploring familial relationships, generational trauma, love, guilt, compassion, hope, acceptance, and forgiveness.
In addition to appearances from Kai Höss and Maya Lasker-Wallfisch, the 110-minute feature documentary will also include original excerpts of Rudolf Höss’ long-forgotten autobiography, written shortly before his execution.
Why Is Max the Best Way to Watch “The Commandant’s Shadow”?
“The Commandant’s Shadow” is an HBO Original Documentary, so there are multiple ways to stream the project, but The Streamable recommends Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service Max. Cord-cutters who subscribe to live TV streaming services like DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, and more have the ability to add on HBO, just as they would with a premium cable or satellite subscription. However, that can be expensive as live TV streamers that offer HBO as an add-on cost more than $70 per month.
However, a subscription to Max will not only give you access to HBO’s full library but also Max Original films and series and content from other WBD brands including Food Network, TCM, Discovery, and more. And the best part is that you can sign up at a fraction of the cost of a live TV stream. Max currently offers plans on three monthly tiers: an ad-supported plan for $9.99, an ad-free plan for $16.99, and the ultimate ad-free tier with 4K video playback and other additional features for $20.99.
The one major benefit that live TV streamers DIRECTV STREAM and Hulu + Live TV have over Max is that if you are only interested in watching “The Commandant’s Shadow,” you can sign up for those two services via a free trial. DIRECTV’s will get you five days free and Hulu’s is for three days, both more than long enough to watch the documentary. However, if you want to check out anything else from the HBO archive beyond your free period, it will cost significantly more than a month of Max.
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Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.
