The Quality of Mercy (1994)

The Quality of Mercy (original title: Hasenjagd – Vor lauter Feigheit gibt es kein Erbarmen) is a dramatization of the events surrounding the Mühlviertler Hasenjagd, a Nazi war crime that took place near Linz, in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria, just before the end of the Second World War. The movie's original title translates as "Rabbit chase – for sheer cowardice, there is no mercy", a reference to the name given by the SS to the manhunt for the hundreds of prisoners who managed to escape from Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. Nearly 500 tried to escape, over 300 made it to the nearby woods, and of those, a mere 11 managed to survive the three months till the war ended. Most were shot on the spot or beaten to death when they were found, 57 were returned to the camp. The movie attracted 123,000 spectators in Austria, making it the most successful movie of 1995.

Synopsis

The movie starts on a morning in January 1945. The spectator is advised of the real events on which the movie is based. The first pictures show images of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, and afterwards the inside of barrack 20 – the “death block” – is shown. 500 Russian soldiers, who have refused to fight for Germany after being arrested, sleep on the floor. Then the wake-up-call rings. Having been put on a harsh diet, many get up only laboriously, while some are completely unable to do so any more.

Actors