By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

One striking aspect of the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Fairborn is how Nazi artifacts are on display in ways that intentionally don’t glorify them.

A gilt bronze Nazi eagle from the entrance to Hitler’s Reich Chancellery office in Berlin is displayed toppled over a pile of blown-out bricks. Next to it, also on its side, is a bust of Hitler — riddled with bullet holes — found at a Nazi general’s headquarters in France.

And practically at the gallery’s ceiling, in a place of no prominence, is a sizeable oil painting of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) general staff circa 1941. It was brought to the United States at the end of the war.

In the center of the painting is Luftwaffe Commander-in-Chief Hermann Göring, who was second only to Hitler. In charge of Nazi Germany’s Jewish policies, it was Göring who ordered the development of the Final Solution.

Göring was the highest-ranking Nazi to stand trial at Nuremberg after World War II.

But before Göring faced the first of the 13 Nuremberg trials, it fell to U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Chief Psychiatrist Lt. Col. Douglas Kelley to determine if Göring and the other high-ranking Nazis were mentally fit to stand trial. Kelley also studied their motivations, “to take steps to prevent the recurrence of such evil.”

This narrative forms the basis of writer, producer, director James Vanderbilt’s historical drama film Nuremberg, which opens Nov. 7.

Nuremberg had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 7, where it received a four-minute standing ovation according to deadline.com, which described the TIFF ovation as “quite rare.”

Jonathan McNeal, manager of The Neon movies in Downtown Dayton for more than two decades, screened Nuremberg a few months before he attended TIFF.
“Sony Classics decided to give exhibitors an opportunity to see the films before Toronto,” he says.

“It’s going to be a gut punch of a film that really speaks to today in a lot of ways. It is 100% the type of film our regulars here at The Neon would support and embrace.”

Rami Malek, who won an Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody, plays Kelley, who navigates a psychological cat-and-mouse game with Russell Crowe as Göring.

“Göring doesn’t want to reveal certain things, and Kelley is trying to get underneath the surface before they start this unprecedented trial,” McNeal says.

Michael Shannon plays U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson, appointed by President Harry S. Truman to serve as U.S. Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg.

“Michael Shannon is incredible. And then behind the scenes the period detail is going to be there and the production design that people come to expect of the higher-caliber films that we play here. It’s beautifully done for as horrifying as some of the moments are. It does show some of the atrocities of the Holocaust.”

Though the critical response prior to Nuremberg’s opening has been middling, McNeal says he came out of it feeling that it was an important film. Critical responses don’t stop his audiences from embracing something they feel is valuable.

“I think the audience score will be high on this one. It’s a cautionary tale for today’s climate, for any climate that deals with politics that are going unchecked by the people.”

To read the complete November 2025 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.