LOGLINE

With the world at war, a brilliant Nazi - and the infamous company he worked for - create one of the world’s deadliest chemicals, and a fearsome weapon whose deadly legacy survives to the present day.

SYNOPSIS

The poison known as Substance 146 was considered an effective insecticide when first developed by the brilliant Otto Ambros and other German scientists in 1938. A few drops were quickly revealed to be capable of unleashing devastating effects on the human nervous system as well - an opportunity for extermination of a different kind.

The Godfather of Sarin unfolds the complex story of I.G. Farben, the company behind Sarin, offering viewers a front seat as Ambros navigates the transition from world-class chemist to Hitler’s chief chemical weapons engineer. Through Ambros, viewers will travel from the laboratories of the German Reich to post-World War II America, when the specter of the Cold War was looming over every-day life. It is a story that reveals dark truths about the intimate relationships of enemies, and the fallout of compromised economic and geopolitical reasoning, all from a long-gone era that still threatens us in surprising ways today. 

DIRECTOR BIO

Jonathan Gruber is the Executive Producer of Black Eye Productions, where he has been directing, producing and writing documentary films and videos for more than 25 years. He has made multiple award-winning feature documentaries that have been prominently featured at festivals, aired on U.S. public television, and broadcast around the world, including: Centered: Joe Lieberman, Upheaval, Miriam Beerman: Expressing the Chaos, Follow Me, Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray, Life is a Banquet: The Rosalind Russell Story, and Pola’s March. 

His TV shows have aired on History Channel, Discovery Channels, National Geographic, and many more. He was an Executive Producer—and the co-creator—on the MSNBC series, Story of Cool. He has worked extensively in historical subjects, including Alexander the Great, Leonardo da Vinci, and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.

Jonathan looks at all projects as stories worth remembering. His work has helped facilitate social movements, sparked policy change, celebrated long-overlooked individuals, informed generations, built brands, and, of course, entertained.