Hitler's War

In a comedic routine, British comedian Eddie Izzard states, “Adolf Hitler is a homicidal f***head.” The movie, “Downfall” showed that not all in Hitler’s Germany accepted this as gospel. The movie detailed the last days of Hitler and his Nazis regime with Hitler’s secretary Traudi Junge narrating the opening scene. Junge admitted at the end of the film she should have known more about the crimes of her boss but she, like many Germans, choose the ignore what was occurring. During the movie, she told Eva Braun that Hitler was a caring man in private but he said such terrible things in public. Somehow, she never seemed to connect his public utterances with what was happening around her. Even at the last hours, Hitler hold over the Germans was complete. Young children fought to the death and preferred suicide to surrender and elements of the SS were executing the elderly, who refused to fight for their Fuhrer.

Hitler reviewed the war room maps and moved troops that didn't exist. And his General knew that the cause was lost but they didn’t have the courage to say so. German soldiers, including members of the Hitler’s youth, were sacrificed to buy just little more time for a regime that controlled a few blocks of Berlin at best.

Eva Braun was depicted as the lady in waiting as she entertained the inner circle. Beneath the surface of this apparently fun loving woman was a dedicated Nazis who wanted to die with her Fuhrer. She had been the loyal girl friend, sitting in the background and only at the end did she receive her Fuhrer’s hand in marriage.

Propaganda Minister Joel Goebel and his wife, Magda, couldn’t imagine a world without Hitler and his National Socialism ideology. They don’t even want their own children to be part of just a world, so they kill their own children before ending their own life. There was one surreal scene where Himmler asked an aide whether he should give Eisenhower the Nazis salute or shake his hand as he negotiated Germany surrender. Or there was Goering, who usurped Hitler’s power at a time that the Reich ceased to exist. You had Nazis leaders vying for power in an Empire that was shrinking by the second.

Hitler was an old man whose handshake consistently, and who erupted in temper tantrums. He blamed the German people and wanted to institute a scorch earth policy to ensure that the Allies inherit nothing but ashes. When Albert Speer told Hitler to allow the Germans a chance to rebuild and end this policy of destruction, Hitler retorted that the Germans proved to be weak. Goebels and Hitler concluded that the strongest Germans had already died and those had survived didn't deserve mercy.

Article Author: Tom Donelson

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