As part of a set of programmes to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the BBC is working on a centrepiece drama about the televised 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann. The Beeb has Martin Freeman and Anthony LaPaglia aboard to star.
The 90-minute TV movie, titled The Eichmann Show, follows events surrounding what was described as the “trial of the century”, broadcast in 37 countries over four months as one of the most notorious Nazis – the man who had overseen the death camps – was brought to justice. He was eventually sentenced to death and hanged in 1962.
80% of the German population watched the trial, which became the first ever global TV event. Freeman is set to play producer Milton Fruchtman and LaPaglia will be director Leo Hurwitz, two of the men responsible for capturing the trial for the world to see.
To see the full list of programmes and events in the anniversary series, head to the BBC’s site.
Freeman will next be seen in **The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies **as Peter Jackson’s second Tolkien trilogy reaches its end on December 12. LaPaglia has thriller Newcomer and romance film Big Stone Gap working their way through post-production.