The 81st Blow is a 1974 Israeli documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 directed by Haim Gouri

Haim Gouri

Haim Gouri is an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Haim Gouri was born in Tel Aviv. After studying at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School, he joined the Palmach militia. In 1947 he was sent to Hungary to assist Holocaust survivors to come to Palestine...

. The film covers the oppression of Jews under the Nazis and features rare historical footage of concentration camps. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature

Academy Award for Documentary Feature

The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...

. The title is derived from a comment by a witness at Adolf Eichmann

Adolf Eichmann

Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...

's trial. According to his testimony, he was whipped 80 times by the Nazis, but was not believed by Israelis after the war; this final doubt of his own people was the "81st blow". The 81st Blow is the first film in the Israeli Holocaust Trilogy by Bergman, Ehrlich and Gouri. It was followed by The Last Sea (1980) and Flames in the Ashes (1985).