Help me remember an old WWII movie

Cafe Society
1

I don’t remember much, but I think the details are unique enough to help. I was young, between 6 and 8. It would have been a year or two either side of 1980. My oldest sister, 14-16 at the time, was watching a movie. The only thing I remember was a scene involving a firing squad. A line of naked men, all holding their hands over their junk, was set up in front of a pit. A group of Nazi’s (I knew they were Nazi’s because they wore swastikas, I was old enough to know what a Swastika was) were lined up opposite them with machine guns that and I think they were laying down to fire them with bipods on the machine guns…but I’m not sure about those last bits. One of the Nazi’s standing around, looking back now I assume it was an officer, had one of the other Nazi’s go grab one of the naked men and bring him over to him as he thought he knew the guy and/or he didn’t look like whatever he was supposed to look like. It didn’t help and he got put back in line with the rest. Then they shot them. Then there was moaning. Then they shot them again.

I remember thinking at the time that I probably wasn’t old enough to see it, but I couldn’t stop watching and my sister didn’t send me away. We didn’t have cable or a VCR so it would have to have been on network TV (or possibly one of the 2 independent channels St.Louis had at the time that did play a lot of movies, often uncensored, rated R movies at night, but I don’t think this was at night). Any ideas?

2

The first thing I thought of was a scene from the 1978 miniseries “Holocaust,” starring Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Meryl Streep, Tovah Feldshuh, and James Woods. Not sure though. Do you recall any of the actors?

3

It was in Holocaust , the SS officer was supervising the shooting of Russian Jews, and this tall, Aryan looking young man was in the line. He called him over and tried to get him to admit he had a ‘non-Jewish’ heritage. When the young man couldn’t (or wouldn’t) admit to having a non-Jewish ancestor, he stuck him back in the line and had everyone gunned down.

4

That’s the exact scene I’m thinking of too. I bet that’s got to be the one the OP asked about.

I really enjoyed that movie. I have the book too; it’s very good. The Dorf character is somewhat of a pre-cursor to Ralph Fiennes’s “Amon Goeth” in Schindler’s List. He’s got the same sort of mental detachment from what he’s in charge of, although Dorf doesn’t seem to be a psycho like Goeth was.

5

Yep, that’s got to be it. Thanks guys.

6

A 1980’s movie is old? When I think of an old WW2 moovie, I think Bataan or Across the Pacific. I have socks older than 1980.