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nazi germany

The Meaning of Hitler – Does History Mean Anything?

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Hitler. A name that for much of the world connotes absolute evil. But that name is burnt into history in such a way that we continue to struggle with the legacy that left millions dead. Petra Epperline and Michael Tucker bring us The Meaning of Hitler, a film framed by the 1987 book by Sebastian Haffner. The film is not so much an attempt to discover the meaning of Hitler in history as it is trying to understand why that worldview, something we see as so evil, continues in many ways in today’s world.

The filmmakers began the project during the time of the UK voting on Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and rising nationalist and anti-immigrant movements in many places. There was a very clear shift going on in the world that reached something of an apex at Charlottesville, and the rally of the extreme right that featured Nazis prominently. Since that time comparisons to fascism and Nazis have flown in accusations (going towards both the right and the left). Trump was often compared to Hitler. Was that a fair comparison?

The film begins with an interview with writer Martin Amis, who talks about the similarities (and the dissimilarities) of the two. It follows Hitler’s life and career through comments by a series of historians (including both the Hitler apologist David Irving and Deborah Lipstadt, whom Irving sued for libel [cf. the film Denial]) who shed light on the history and the present from different perspectives.

Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s THE MEANING OF HITLER. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

The film looks at Holocaust denial, the return of anti-Semitism in various forms, and the ways history is being rewritten so that the very concept of truth is being questioned. The film even questions whether a film such as itself can really find the truth amidst so much conflicting opinions and the rhetoric that fills everything around Hitler and his legacy.

Until a few years ago, I might have thought that the world had moved past that ugly period in our history. But like the filmmakers, I too have been shocked, deeply saddened, and at times angered by the growing sentiments (that I especially notice in my own country) that parallel the kind of authoritarian nationalism that was such a key part of Nazism. And while the filmmakers point out, Trump is not Hitler, they also point out the many ways Trump has used very similar techniques.

The fact that we do makes those comparisons, justly or not, between Hitler and modern situations (that are not limited to the US), is the reason that this film is needed. It allows us a chance to question the rhetoric of both sides. More important, it allows us to see ourselves in an evolving historical moment that may well lead either away or closer to the kinds of abuses of the past. If we associate Hitler with absolute evil, will these comparisons change the way we see that evolving world?

The Meaning of Hitler is in select theaters and available on VOD.

Photos courtesy of IFC Films.

A Hidden Life: Resisting Evil

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Terrance Malick creates films that are spiritual experiences. Sometimes, it is more about the experience than story. (Personally, I love going through those experiences, but understand why some find it difficult.) In A Hidden Life, Malick creates an experience that relies on the real-life inspirational story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Although it has the traditional plot framework, like many of Malick’s films, it feels more like visual poetry than the prose that makes up the story.

The tone of the film is set at the beginning as strains of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion plays over archival footage of Nazi parades and military parades. This dichotomy of the sacred and what is now nearly universally seen as the embodiment of evil speaks to the conflict upon which this film is built. We know from the beginning that this is a story of good and evil. We also know that it will surely be told with a spiritual depth that is rare to find in films.

August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) is a peasant farmer living in an idyllic village in the Alpine foothills. He, his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner), and their three daughters live a happy life in a community that works, plays, and worships together. When Austria is annexed by Germany, Franz, like all Austrians, must report for basic training. Because farmers are important to the war effort, he soon returns home, but the threat of being called up is always on his mind. If he is called up, he will be required to take an oath of allegiance to Adolph Hitler, whom he sees as evil. (The term Antichrist is used about Hitler in the film, but not spoken by Franz. He does seem to agree with the characterization, though.)

As he awaits the possible call up, he and Fani discuss his options. He also becomes known to the community as an anti-Nazi (a stance most of the village disagree with). While others use “Heil Hitler” as a greeting, Franz dissents. He speaks with his parish priest, who is supportive, and even gets an audience with the local bishop, who is less so (perhaps out of fear that Franz might be a Gestapo spy).

August Diehl and Valerie Pachner in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

When the call-up comes, Franz reports, but when the time comes to take the oath, he refuses—an act he knows may well lead to his immediate execution. Instead he is arrested and begins a period of months in prison, first in Austria, and then in Berlin. Many, his priest, his lawyer, military people, even other prisoners, make arguments that he should sign the oath and save his life. But in his heart, he must be faithful to himself and his Christian beliefs—even if it could lead to his death.

Meanwhile, back in the village, the Jägerstätter family is being ostracized. Fani and her sister are left to do all the farm work themselves, even when the others in the village help one another in these difficult times. Franz and Fani’s daughters have mud thrown at them by neighboring children.

During this period, we hear, mostly in voice over, the letters between Franz and Fani. The letters are in part love letters, but also an exploration of the faith in God these two people have as they face these trials. The way the letters are read make them seem poetic.

This is a film that has various layers for us to appreciate. As always with Malick films, A Hidden Life is gorgeous. Director of Photography Jeorg Widmer gives us jaw dropping shots of scenery. Even his shots inside prison speak as loudly as the dialogue in the film. The visuals of the film create a visual poetry that underlies the story we are told.

August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Like some of Malick’s other films, he allows the visual aspects to help carry the story. The film is in English and German. The German portions are not subtitled, but in reality we don’t need the subtitles. We know perfectly well what is happening, even if we don’t know the words being said. The love letters are often heard as we see scenes from the life the two key characters are living out. Those scenes may not coincide with the words we hear, but they clearly are integrated to the emotional tone of the letters.

A good part of the film is built around those who try to get Franz to submit to the oath. It is not unlike the temptation of Christ or the discussions Job has with his friends. Each one brings a new reason for him to consider: it is really just a formality; no one really takes it seriously; he has a duty to his family to stay alive and support them; he can be assigned hospital duty and not be part of the fighting; no one will know what he is doing so it is a wasted effort; it is his patriotic duty to support his nation; it is biblical to obey those in authority because they have been put there by God. And like Jesus in the wilderness or Job among the ashes. Franz holds firm to his position that he is doing right and his duty to God.

For one who remembers the draft during the Vietnam War, I recognize those arguments, which are similar to those made against conscientious objectors in that period. Like Jägerstätter’s neighbors, there were many during the Vietnam era who considered COs to be cowards and traitors. It was often a difficult path for those who sought to live out their faith in that time by refusing to take part in what they considered an unjust and illegal war.

August Diehl and Valerie Pachner in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

In one of his letters Franz writes, “”If I must write… with my hands in chains, I find that much better than if my will were in chains. Neither prison nor chains nor sentence of death can rob a man of the Faith and his free will.” In this he echoes the Apostle Paul, who spoke of himself as an “ambassador in chains”. For Franz, the Nazis might control his body and even take his life, but on a spiritual level, his freedom was his own.

A word should be said about the length of the film. Its running time is three hours. While leaving the theater after seeing this at AFI Fest, I overheard a conversation in which some one asked if it needed to be three hours. I thought that perhaps it didn’t need to be that long, but there is no reason for it not to be that long. And because it is such an immersive and at times meditative experience, the running time could easily be seen as adding to the strength of the film.

Valerie Pachner and August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

For the record, Franz Jägerstätter was declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI and beatified in 2007. It should be noted that the word martyr comes from the Greek word for witness. Franz Jägerstätter servs as a witness to what it means to be faithful in the face of evil. His story was relatively unknown for many years. One argument made by his tempters was that no one would ever know his story, so it was an empty act. But now, his story comes to us with power and faith to speak to how we are called to live in the world when evil often appears in many manifestations that seek to either force us to take part, or at the very least stand silently by.

A Hidden Life was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

Transit – Just Passing Through (Or Not)

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There is an old gospel song, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through”. A bit of that sense of temporariness is what we find in Transit from German director Christian Penzold. There are various aspects of this film that may leave us a bit off-balance, but that just adds to the depth of this film.

The film is based on a novel by the same name that was based in 1940 France as Nazis were in the process of occupying the country. But it is filmed with current day clothing, weapons, and vehicles, but not modern technology such as computers. The story certainly reflects the novel’s time frame, but the film also pulls the story into our world.

Georg (Franz Rogowski) has recently escaped from a prison camp, and is told of a chance to escape Paris for Marseilles, which has not yet been occupied, and so is a place where many have fled to seek passage to other countries. When delivering letters to a writer, he discovers the writer is dead. But the writer has letters that promise him a visa for Mexico, if he can get to Marseilles to get them. Soon he is in the city, doing what must be done to leave France. Also in the city is Marie (Paula Beer), the writer’s estranged wife, searching for her husband. The two are attracted to each other, but Georg cannot bring himself to tell Marie the truth. Will they sail off into the sunset together? Will the truth come out? Will anyone be saved?

There are various side stories that add to the plot and its complexity, including the young son of the man who died while en route to Marseilles with Georg, and a doctor with whom Marie is having an affair. There are also many stories of people in Marseilles struggling to find a way to leave. Meanwhile, the fascists keep “cleansing” towns and will soon be here.

The modern setting of a story that seems obviously to fit with the Nazi era reminds us that refugees and immigrants continue to deal with this sense of “just a-passing through” with hopes but no assurances of having a place to go to. As we hear the various stories of the different people who are in Marseilles, they reflect life as it is still being lived by people who seek safety and a new life in another land.

But because of the way the film draws this story into our own world, it becomes a dark, existential reflection of life as something in transit. Marseilles becomes a limbo or purgatory that we find ourselves in just as the characters have. It sees life as a kind of searching for a future that we do not know—one that could be our salvation or our ruin. In the meanwhile we are thrown together with other would-be pilgrims, stuck in a world that is simultaneously threatening and hopeful. And there is no guarantee that any of us will find our way out. This is made evident in the song over the closing credits, which is not “This World is Not My Home”, but “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads.

Photos courtesy of Music Box Films

The Captain – Responding to Authority

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“Everyone gets their due.”

The power of authority is at the center of The Captain, a German film from Robert Schwentke. But the authority in the film is based in a lie. In spite of that, the authority is perceived as real by everyone involved.

Based on a true story, the film is set in the last two weeks of World War II. Willi Herold (Max Hubacker) is a deserter who barely escapes MPs. He exists by looting farms. When he comes upon a disabled car he finds an officer’s luggage and puts on the uniform and begins to take on the persona of an officer. Freytag (Milan Peschel), another soldier separated from his unit (or maybe another deserter), attaches himself to Herold as his driver and aide. When they come upon other soldiers checking papers, Herold acts aloof and claims to be on orders from Hitler himself. Although he has no proof, no one is willing to challenge him. Soon he gathers a group of soldiers (mostly other deserters) around him. He is essentially a con man who takes advantage of people’s fear.

Ironically, he is called on to deal with a deserter who has been caught looting. To prove his power he executes the deserter. That is the beginning of a spree that will become increasingly violent and sadistic. He and his cohort come to a detention camp filled with deserters. Even though the camp authorities have their doubts, Herold sets up his own brand of summary justice, killing scores with great cruelty. Later Herold and his band move to a nearby town where they continue their lawlessness in the name of the law.

Of course, as viewers we understand just how empty Herold’s authority is. Yet, for those he encounters, it is hard for them to doubt the things he says, even though he has no written proof of anything. Just because he wears that uniform and acts as though he has been given power by the highest authority, people will do as he commands.

However, from time to time we see Freytag, who often tries to stay in the background, as he watches Herold play out his role. Freytag, unlike the other soldiers following Herold, is disapproving of the cruelty. It may be that viewers will want to identify with Freytag and his sense of horror at what he sees happening. But the question the film wants to ask is to what extent do we also stand and watch, while doing nothing to stop what is obviously wrong?

Although it is important to note the historical context of the film, we should not simply think that the cruelty of the Third Reich would make this seem acceptable for the various people that encountered Herold. For the most part, the German people of that time were not much different from the people we encounter each day. They are all just trying to get through the ups and downs of life as we are. When something terrible takes place, we may be disgusted—perhaps even angry—at what we see taking place, but are hesitant to step in and challenge the authority of those doing such things. During the end credits, we see Herold and his gang of thugs in a modern setting, reminding us that this film speaks to today.

Photos courtesy of Music Box Films.

The Exception: Will Love or Duty Win the Day?

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Christopher Plummer is quite dapper as exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II, under investigation by the Nazi Reich’s Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney). Brandt has his own disgraces to deal with – having been forced into this ‘undercover’ assignment. But instead of uncovering who the British spy is in the Wihelm estate, he falls for a maid, Mieke (Lily James), which is doubly problematic because she is Jewish. Will love or duty win the day?

While much of the world would openly agree that Nazi Germany was filled with problems, evils, and atrocities, we’re moved to see Brandt’s dilemma sympathetically. He’s been charged to a duty – even threatened, and his lack of abject loyalty puts him in clear danger. Based on Alan Judd’s The Kaiser’s Last Kiss (2003), the story is fictional, but the dynamics are legitimately worthy of our attention.

What happens when the world we think we know suddenly becomes unworthy of our respect? What do we do when we realize that our expected list of priorities is morally off? Too often, we move along with the flow, assuming it will all somehow ‘get better’ without our action, without change. But if we’re honest, we realize that the truth requires us to be invested; when we see wrong, we have to ask. For most of us, like Brandt, it requires love to break through the chokehold of our patterns of behavior and expectation. We won’t change until we’re forced to care.

Lionsgate’s special features on the Blu-ray/Digital HD combo pack include a “Behind the Scenes of The Exception” featurette as well as audio commentary from director David Leveaux.