P.O. Box 1142
The film follows the story of Jewish immigrants working in America during the war. Specifically, it covers the creation and running of P.O. Box 1142. With animated reenactments mixed in with brief talking head segments, the film is enjoyable but feels like it really should have been a lot longer for the material being explored.
The facility was located in the town of Topeka, Kansas and was used by the United States Army Air Forces. The project was code-named “Topeka” because it was located on Topeka’s main square. The facility had a total of six buildings, two of which were used as interrogation rooms.
The Von Braun Institute is a research center in Huntsville, Alabama, that specializes in the design and development of advanced rockets and spacecraft. It was founded by Wernher Von Braun, one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology during the 20th century. The institute is also known for its work on the Apollo moon missions. ..
The documentary follows the stories of two Jewish survivors from this secret installation, who live to tell their tales while many took their secrets to the grave (thanks to a sworn oath of secrecy.) The project worked well for the most part, gaining valuable intel from prisoners, but undoubtedly did so with questionable methods.
The documentary is biased in favor of the military and against the victims of torture.
The documentary America’s Secret Nazis does not really dive into this – or the overall impact of this project – in much detail, nor does it talk about the larger war effort beyond some tidbits here and there. To be fair though, there is some expository text at the end informing what happened to these Nazis but beyond that, the documentary does leave one wanting to know more about the nitty-gritty details of this project.
This short-length documentary tells the story of a small group of American Nazis who, for a period of around two years, operated out of a small cabin in the woods outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. The group was made up of individuals who had all been radicalized by the alt-right movement in America and were eager to take on what they saw as an oppressive government. However, after the Unite the Right rally in August 2017 turned violent and left one person dead and dozens injured, the group disbanded.
Despite the negative reviews, this documentary film is not bad and history enthusiasts should enjoy it.
