Je n’avais que le néant (All I Had Was Nothingness)
Documentary film by Guillaume Ribot and post-screening discussion (in German) as part of the exhibition Claude Lanzmann: The Recordings
On the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27, 1945, the Jewish Museum Berlin is showing the documentary film Je n’avais que le néant (2025) by Guillaume Ribot to accompany the exhibition Claude Lanzmann. The Recordings.
vergangene Veranstaltung
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
Lanzmann spent twelve years producing Shoah (1985), a groundbreaking work that took a fundamentally new approach to depicting the Holocaust in cinema. Four decades later, filmmaker Guillaume Ribot delves into over 220 hours of unpublished footage from Shoah. In an effort to capture the reality of the Holocaust, Lanzmann conducted interviews with victims, witnesses, and perpetrators from around the world. He embarked on an unprecedented journey that—including doubts, setbacks, and false leads—resulted in a milestone in film history.
Ribot uses only Lanzmann's own words, excerpts from his memoirs, and previously unseen footage to pay tribute to one of cinema's masterpieces and the director's tireless quest to tell untold stories.
Following the film, there will be a discussion with film scholar Gertrud Koch and Christoph Hesse from the Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research (in German).
Courtesy of MK2films.
In cooperation with the French Embassy in Germany
Exhibition Claude Lanzmann: The Recordings: Features & Programs
Exhibition Webpage
Claude Lanzmann: The Recordings: 28 Nov 2025 to 12 Apr 2026
Conference
The Sound of History. Claude Lanzmann’s Preparation for Shoah: Conference from 9 to 10 Feb 2026
See also
- The Lanzmann Collection: Projects to catalog, preserve, and share the legacy of the audio cassettes from this holding of the Jewish Museum Berlin
- The Lanzmann Collection on the Oral-History.Digital (OH.D) online platform: All audio recordings from the Lanzmann Collection will be available on OH.D by the end of 2027 (registration required)
- JMB di.kla: Online offering on the topic of the Shoah for grades 11 and above
Where, when, what?
- WhenTue 27 Jan 2026, 7 pm
-
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
See location on map
-
Entry fee
€ 6, reduced rate € 3
About the filmJe n’avais que le néant, documentary film by Guillaume Ribot (director/screenplay), France 2025, 94 min., French, English, German, Polish, with English subtitles; producers: Estelle Fialon, Dominique Lanzmann
SpracheFilm: in Originalversion mit englischen Untertiteln
Gespräch nach dem Film: auf Deutsch
