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Litten’s Passion is the forgotten true story of the First Victim of the Holocaust.

Hans Litten was a saintly German attorney who worked tirelessly for the poor and was opposed to the rise of fascism in Europe. In 1931, Litten interrogated Hitler in court, and embarrassed the future Führer before the entire German nation. After the burning of the Reichstag in 1933, one of Hitler’s first acts of power was to arrest Litten and several dozen other “political trophies.” These were the original concentration camp prisoners.

For the next five years, Litten was mercilessly tortured and told he would be the last prisoner ever released from a camp. Meanwhile, his mother, Irmgard Litten, and prominent British pacifist, Lord Allen of Hurtwood, led an underground, “Schindler-esque” struggle to free Hans Litten. Lord Allen met with Hitler several times, and urged members of the Nazi Inner Circle to release Litten. Irmgard bravely defied many Nazi officials and pulled many strings to stay in constant contact with her son.

Hans Litten was murdered at Dachau in February 1938. Soon thereafter, Lord Allen rescued Irmgard from Germany.

Litten’s Passion is the true story of Hans Litten and the other initial victims of the Holocaust, including Carl von Ossietzky (who received the Nobel Peace Prize from a concentration camp). Their story is one the world cannot afford to forget.

Click here to read an interview with Arik Bjorn about the discovery of Litten’s story and the screenwriting process.

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