The film covers the oppression of Jews under the Nazis and features rare historical footage of concentration camps. The title is derived from a comment by a witness at Adolf Eichmann'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).
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