This very
dark 2004 film depicting the final days in the Fuhrerbunker is nothing less
than powerful. In my opinion it exceeds all the previous attempts at portraying
these events. Bruno Ganz as Hitler is amazing.
This
moving, even haunting film shows that Nazis were real people, though some
certainly come across as something less. The darkness, Nihilism and apocalyptic
feel of the collapse of the Third Reich comes through powerfully. A total utter
collapse of a regime and society is something that's hard to even grasp.
I've watched
the film several times and I cannot recommend it enough. A lot of Americans
stumble over subtitles but personally I appreciate hearing the language and I
think it provides a great authenticity.
I think one
of the most fascinating moments is when Traudl Junge stumbles on a dazed Hitler
just staring at a portrait of Frederick the Great and desperately wishing for
another miracle for Brandenburg.
Goebbels
tried to give comfort to his master by suggesting the death of FDR might be
such an event but it was not to be. The final events regarding his family are
of course chilling.
At the end of
the film the real life characters of the Fuhrerbunker are listed with brief
biographical notes and dates of death. It's surprising to see how long many of
them lived. For some reason I find that moving to consider they lived so long
and were able to witness the course of events and the legacy of Hitler. They
had many years to reflect. Traudl Junge died in 2002. The clip of her at the
end was also moving, sort of a last testimony of that generation speaking to
today. I hadn't really seen a video of her since her appearances on the World
at War series from the 1970's.
I always
watch the news for Nazi-era survivors and I was immediately aware of the death
of Rochus Misch, the very last survivor. He died in 2013.
