Has anyone seen the foreign movie Der Untergang “The Downfall”?
Question by LeslyVengeance: Has anyone seen the foreign movie Der Untergang “The Downfall”?
Last Monday and Tuesday my AP US History class & I were exposed to the movie Der Untergang, a German film depicting the last ten days that Adolf Hitler spend in his bunker before committing suicide and his Nazi regime. As a result, a few questions arose. Should Hitler have been “humanized” rather than letting us continue to see him as the monster we think he is? Is it important to stick the “the truth” when making movies about historical events like this? Another part that has caused some controversy is the scene in which the mother kills all of her kids while they are sleeping. Is this right to have kids play a part like this?
Please answer ONLY if you have something intelligent to add to this conversation. No stupid remarks. Preferably people who have seen the movie.
Best answer:
Answer by ZosoGod
Hitler was humanized in this movie. Of course I dont agree with what he did, but this movie made him seem more of a man, rather than something to be feared. It showed he had such weaknesses and he’d rather face the ultimate sacrifice than face those weaknesses.
Even though I also took AP US History I dont know much about Hitler. For me the movie itself seemed mostly truthful, of course they had to take some liberties with dialogue. When making movies like this its important to stay with the history, we dont watch a movie like this for surprise twists or a happy ending. We know what will happen and expect to see that in what we are watching.
The part when the mother kills her children is a necessary evil. The children had to show in the movie that the innocent will suffer (even though already shown), but the addition of minors increases the shock of such times. It almost added a poignant part that the eldest girl knew what her mother was doing. It was a representation of the people of Germany, that she knew what was happening to those around her and couldnt stop it due to a stronger and more powerful force.
Hope this helps
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