Hitler portrayed as a human (in 'Downfall')?

Question

Just saw this movie about Hitlers last days in the bunker, and found it fascinating, seeing him portrayed with such human weaknesses, completely deranged. I felt sorry for some of his officers, but certainly not for Mrs Goebbels, the bit where she poisons her children was horrific and still haunts me.

I heard there was some controversy about this film, and whether Hitler should be portrayed as a human-being. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, like it or not Hitler was human.

What do other people think?

Answer 1

he was a very clever man

Answer 2

Downfall is an excellent film. I think it is probably quite a cathartic film for Germany. Being made by a home grown director, means that the film carries the weight of authenticity, rather than just the Hollywood interpretation of Nazism.

Portraying Hitler as a human, not a caricature, is vital to making the film work; both as entertainment (if you can call it that) and as an educational thing. It gives it a cautionary element, basically saying "look he was a human, however bad he was. Make sure no-one else is ever allowed to do what he did". Seeing how pathetic the third reich had become by the end was sickly satisfying.
I agree as well about Goebbels; he and his wife were truly awful; that scene with the kids made me feel physically ill!

I'm disappointed that people thought it was controversial to go for realism; I don't see how it couldn't have been done any other way

Answer 3

You are quite correct, showing Hitler as anything but human would have been a cop out, allowing humanity to kid itself that he was something different to us.

The film itself was very well done, the bits in the streets where the vigilantes were still hanging people for being defeatist with the Russians at the gates, and the little boys and girls were manning the barricades were particularly chilling.

Inside the bunker, I found it difficult to pity anyone except the children and possibly the young secretary, the rest of them had taken his money and been glad to share his power. The idea that the army were in some way "better" than the party apparatchiks and the SS is just plain wrong. Those that didn't take part personally in the massacres of Jews and other civilians, knew and did nothing except take his money and his medals and collaborate.

Mrs Goebbels was indeed very scary but she did have a choice, she could have taken the children out of Berlin before the Russians closed in - she and her husband chose not to.

Answer 4

I think isn't extremely important for Hitler to be portrayed as human, it serves as a warning to us all, it would be easy for us now to think, "that's awful what a monster, but oh he wasn't human, it can never happen again in our nice modern society".

It still happens all around the world today, genocide, just far enough away from us that we don't need to bother about it. The film was excellent, moving and horrifying.

The bit where Mrs Goebbels poisons the kids is horrible but I have to say if I was her I would have done the same thing, I would rather my children died in their sleep than the Russian soldiers got hold of them, they would have been tortured, raped and killed.

Many people didn't realise what happened after the war in Germany, fair enough, Hitler was a **** and the German populace of the time must bear some responsibility for letting him gain so much power. But life for ordinary Germans was pretty rough in the Russian controlled area, bayoneted babies, murder, rape, theft and beatings were the way of life. Tit for tat some may say but German or not, the innocent children suffered the most as can still be seen in the wars still raging today

There are no winners in war, only suffering.

Answer 5

It is very important to consider Hitler as human in order to try to understand why he and Nazi Germany did such awful things, in particular perpetrating the holocaust.

Treating Hitler as uniquely evil enables the sad fact that there have been other appalling dictators to be overlooked. In the 1930s and 1940s Stalin also terrorised those under his control and was actually responsible for more deaths than Hitler.

I am old enough to remember the later 1950s and 1960s when the intellectual clinate was to demonise Hitler as uniquely evil. Now that the history of this post-war period is becoming clearer, it is apparent that this treatment of Hitler prevented people from questioning actions that they should have questioned at the time. Specifically, concentration of hatred against Hitler and other dead Nazis leaders, such as Goebbels, assisted the whitewashing of lesser Nazis who should have been punished for war crimes but whom the West wanted to use against the Soviet block. The end was right but the method wrong.

Answer 6

The movie Downfall is fantastic in its sense of pure realism seen through the eyes of the young secretary,Traudl Junge. If we saw the film narrated through the vision of Hitler or Mrs Goebbels then there would be a sense of madness or desperation there.

Hitler was a human and had a vision for Germany to dominate Europe. By the end this fell apart and he chose to protect himself first though suicide and left his nation to take the violent consequences of their dictator's actions.

When you look at Mrs Goebbels can you say that she was protecting her children first. I am not a mother but they often say they would do anything to protect their children - literally anything. However the Goebbels were Roman Catholics so was she to be condemned for her use of infanticide. I think the Goebbels knew the consequences of their actions as suicide is condemned in many instances by the church. They may have felt because they did not have the responsibility of the children they would be forgiven for their own act.

Answer 7

As you say, Hitler was a human being. What he did for Germany before the war was amazing. Zero unemployment, that fantastic autobahn system, and all the best scientists. I think the turning point for the campaign was the bunker plot, that's when Hitler seemed to completely change his strategy for the war.

Still what he became was deplorable and a part of the worlds history.We should also remember that there have been other nations that have tried to eradicate some other race because of fear and envy.
Britain, Russia, America to name but a few.

Answer 8

I think the main controversy about the film is that it was made by Germans in Germany. There is still alot of deep feelings in Germany about the role of the Nazi party in Germany.

it is good that Germans are now starting to explore their dark past and are coming to terms with the people their culture created.

You could argue that Hitler did great good for his country in a time of extreme hardship and poverty, but the cost was just too much. Had he achieved his aims without genocide and war, he could well have been seen as one of the truly great world leaders.

I personally found the film very thought provoking and it was interesting to see beyond the monster usually portrayed in films. I think it was right to accurately portray Hitler as a human being. It would be too easy to show him and his officers as monsters. Humanity has to face up to the fact that every now and then it produces meglomaniacs and evil doers and allows them to move into positions of power.

Answer 9

I agree. Portraying him as different from human would just have been to make everyone else feel more comfortable. It would put distance between us and him as if no-one else is capable of what he did. Burying our head in the sand and pretending that it couldnt happen again is foolish. Especially when we look at what is happening in the world today. There are still plenty of people out there capable of genecide, look at the middle east crisis at the moment, for as long as people are not brought up to value all human life equally there will continue to be "little hitlers" in the world as there are in Isreal, Lebanon and many other places. There are many people in the world today like Hitler, it just takes one to get power and the problem starts over again.
I havent seen the film, I didnt realise Mrs Goebbels did poison her children. Sounds awful to me. I couldnt stand to do that unless I knew for certain they were in for a much worse fate, and I doubt that.

Answer 10

I also saw the film and i thought it was excellent. I think it is important for Hitler to be portrayed as a human being because that way it can be a warning to us - he was only human. A disgusting, twisted and deranged one as you say, but this can act as a reminder that it could happen again. I am a bit puzzled as to why you say you thought mrs. goebbels didnt deserve sympathy and the officers did - why because she was a woman with children she ought to have had more compassion?

Answer 11

I think that films like 'Downfall' - and 'Monster' as mentioned by another answerer (and - have you seen 'The Insider' and 'The Constant Gardener'?? you MUST!) - are really important in they they show their subject as a human being. Hitler was not evil. He had a dream of reunification - making his country strong after it was destroyed and left for dead after WW1.

Now, what happened after that is where things start to go wrong. In order to make all of that happen, in the world political climate of the time, some very bad decisions were made. And some very nasty people were given power. But nasty people are STILL given power today. So in that respect, the lessons of WW2 and of Hitlers rise (and fall) have most definitely NOT been learnt.

There have been, and continue to be, major dictators in the world - some of whom 'appear' to have been elected by the people, just as Hitler was. And leaders continue to bully or lie to their populations, whether they are president, prime minister, CEO, boss or gang leader. There are always those that seek power and dominion and there are always going to be those who wish to be dominated.

There are still on-going pogroms against vast numbers of people in the world - in asia, south america, north america, the middle east, africa, europe (you get the picture). This is organised by countries; by outside agencies; by global oil and chemical companies; by 'medical research' and drug companies; tobacco companies; arms manufacturers; US, Russian and European 'interests abroad'..... this is not a nice place. And we keep letting not nice people run away with things.

Philip K Dick (the late Sci-Fi writer) once wrote of this, saying that clearly those who seek power SHOULD BE THE LAST PEOPLE WE EVER ALLOW TO HAVE ANY!!!
He devised a system like a kind of 'spin the bottle' game... in which the actual power of authority in a government administration would be on a lottery basis - that anyone really could win. Americans have this dream that anyone could really be their president, even though they know that this is impossible.

But until we can halt the power of those 'in control', until we can prevent governments, 'security agencies' and multi-national companies from disregarding human life, other species and the eco-system we all rely on in favour of their own agenda - or the profit margin, we are going to keep finding Hitlers being raised up.