The Interpreter of Silence

The Interpreter of Silence is a 2023 German historical drama television limited series based on the 2018 novel Deutsches Haus (The German House) by Annette Hess. The world premiere took place on November 8, 2023, at the Zoo Palast in Berlin. The five-episode series was released on Disney+ on November 15, 2023, as Star Original. The series has received critical acclaim, praising directing, writing as well as the lead performances. It received a nomination at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards for "Best Foreign Language Series".

Synopsis
In the backdrop of Frankfurt am Main in 1963, Eva Bruhns, a young woman working as an interpreter for Polish language, lives with her family above the "Deutsches Haus", a renowned pub that is run by her parents Edith and Ludwig. Eva is unexpectedly summoned to the court for a criminal trial, necessitating her services as an interpreter. Initially assuming it's a routine commercial or contract law case, she unwittingly translates witness statements using business terms, only to discover, when corrected by the prosecutor, that it is the first Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt – prosecuting former SS members for crimes at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Despite facing opposition from her parents and well-to-do fiancé Jürgen and having never heard of Auschwitz before, Eva feels an internal obligation to persist as an interpreter. As the trial unfolds, she comprehends the staggering extent of the Nazi extermination machinery, realizing a personal connection to this harrowing place. Amid the prevailing hypocritical normality of post-war Germany, Eva proceeds in her role in court, unveiling a concealed chapter of history marked by atrocities, suffering, and guilt. Undeterred by generational suppression, she tenaciously advances the criminal case while confronting the secrets of her very own family entwined with a brutal truth.

Main

 * Katharina Stark as Eva Bruhns, an interpreter for Polish language who takes part in court as translator in the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials
 * Aaron Altaras as David Miller, a representative of the prosecution
 * Max von der Groeben as Hans Kübler, a state prosecutor in the trial
 * Thomas Prenn as Jürgen Schoormann, Eva's fiancé-to-be and heir of his father's mail-order company
 * Anke Engelke as Edith Bruhns, Eva's mother who runs the restaurant Deutsches Haus with her husband Ludwig
 * Iris Berben as Rachel Cohen, a Jewish Auschwitz survivor and witness to the prosecution
 * Heiner Lauterbach as Wilhelm Boger, a defendant in the trial
 * Hans-Jochen Wagner as Ludwig Bruhns, Eva's father who runs the restaurant Deutsches Haus with his wife Edith
 * Ricarda Seifried as Annegret Bruhns, Eva's sister who works as a nurse in a hospital
 * Uwe Preuss as Hans Hofmeyer, the Chief Judge in the trial
 * Sabin Tambrea as Dr. Fritz Jerichow, a counsel for the defense in the trial
 * Henry Hübchen as Walther Schoormann, Jürgen's father and owner of a mail-order company

Recurring

 * Thomas Bading as Fritz Bauer, the lead prosecutor in the trial
 * Martin Horn as Robert Mulka, a defendant in the trial

Reception
The reviews of the limited series were very positive. The online magazine Neues Deutschland described The Interpreter of Silence as the best real-life fiction the genre has ever produced. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung also praised the series as an "outstanding mini-series" that captures the "mendacious silence in post-war Germany". According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the strengths of the miniseries lie above all in the dramaturgy, "which attempts to do justice to the subject matter with as many facets as possible, without being overly didactic". BR24 reviewed it as "the best German series of the year".