Exclusive: Dark star Oliver Masucci didn’t know what he was getting in for when he signed up for The German, Lionsgate and Yes TV’s Israeli series about the hunt for Josef Mengele.

While filming on the show was distressing enough given its heavy subject matter, Masucci tells us he felt “co-traumatized” by the Israel-Hamas war that was raging around him as cameras rolled. On some days, as many as 40 to 60 rockets were dropped during production and the team were forced to spend lots of time in bomb shelters, Masucci explained.

“The inner movement and inner world of [The German’s main character] Uri, who is also a traumatized person, is conflicted because he wants to put everything away and move forward with his life,” said Masucci on the eve of The German’s Series Mania premiere. “But you get co-traumatized while you’re there and start acting like the Israelis. I tried to...