Nazi concentration camps are still a reminder of our recent history. What lures people today to places that are so grievously etched in our cultural memory? Are visits to sacred memorial sites any different from routine tours of secular monuments, or have they simply become destinations that tourists tick off their list after they’ve taken a series of smiling selfies? The title of Sergei Loznitsa’s film refers to the eponymous novel by W. G. Sebald. Like the book’s main character Austerlitz, the director also sets out on a journey to the scenes of mass killings to reflect upon human nature and historical upheaval. In static black-and-white images he records people visiting the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The director allows the visitors to speak for themselves, leaving the camera rolling without commentary as he captures their reactions, enhanced only by a sophisticated soundtrack. After his previous titles focusing on revolutionary turmoil Maidan (2014) and The Event (2015), Loznitsa now delves deeper into the past in order to uncover the essence of the present.