This article discusses the psychological aspects of two documentaries about violence: THE ACT OF KILLING (Joshua Oppenheimer, GB/DK/NO 2012) and DAS RADIKAL BÖSE (THE RADICAL EVIL, Stefan Ruzowitzky, DE/AT 2013), specifically the concepts of trauma and conformity. Both perspectives are revealing and provide insight and structure. But question marks hang over both concepts because they hide important elements of the violence described in the documentaries. In the case of THE ACT OF KILLING the difference between perpetrators and victims should not be neglected; in the case of DAS RADIKAL BÖSE conformity should be recognised as not simply a moral failing.