The anti-Nazi film Hangmen Also Die was made in Hollywood in 1943 as a collaboration between Fritz Lang and Bertolt Brecht. Since the 1973 publication of Brecht’s Journals written in the forties, attention has not only focused on the film, but also on the relationship between the two artists. While writing the script, Lang was not aware of Brecht’s malicious comments.

The film’s starting point was the assassination of Nazi politician Reinhard Heydrich in Prague. Due to a lack of information, the story told in the film is almost purely fictional. In it the assassin works alone and is able to escape with the help of a young girl. The Nazis declare a state of emergency and take citizens of Prague hostage. They are supposed to be shot if the assassin does not hand himself in. The underground movement is on the side of the assassin and convinces him not to give himself up. Instead, they attempt to direct suspicion towards the spy Czeka. He is executed despite the fact that the Germans have doubts about his guilt. The story, as the final credits suggest, is not over yet.

As Brecht was unable to write a text in English, the scriptwriter John Wexley was provided to help him and, in the end, the latter took all the credit himself. For Fritz Lang the film was a success. It was even nominated for an Oscar in the categories Best Film Music (Hanns Eisler) and Best Soundtrack (Jack Whitney).