Downfall (film)

Der Untergang (English: Downfall) is a German film depicting the final days of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1945. The movie was written by Bernd Eichinger and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The film is based on the book by historian Joachim Fest about Hitler's final days, pieces of Albert Speer's memoirs, and the memoirs of Traudl Junge, secretary of Adolf Hitler; in addition, it loosely conveys events described in the memoirs of Siegfried Knappe.

Synopsis

It is the last days of World War Two, and the Red Army is fighting its way into Berlin. Deep within the Führerbunker underneath the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler lives out his last birthday and his final ten days isolated from the world, desperately ordering counterattacks that will never happen, from armies that exist only on maps, commanded by men who are most likely dead. Played by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, Hitler is presented as he was in the last months of World War II: a sick, exhausted man both dreaming still of a Greater Germany amid the ruins of war-ravaged Berlin and callously ranting against the 'weakness' and deserved destruction of the German citizenry. As the Red Army draws nearer and imminent defeat looms over the Third Reich Hitler is seen alone with his clique which consists of Joseph Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes), Albert Speer (Heino Ferch) and (briefly) SS leader Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), along with his personal staff.

Most of the events are depicted from the perspective of Hitler's young personal secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). Events outside Hitler's bunker are mostly depicted from the perspective of SS doctor Ernst-Günther Schenck (Christian Berkel). On the day before his death Hitler marries his longtime mistress Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) and they commit suicide together on April 30, 1945; ten days after Hitler's 56th birthday.

Plot

Introduction

The story begins with a documentary interview with an elderly Traudl Junge, who wonders why she decided to work for Adolf Hitler and states her anger at her younger self for not realizing what kind of a monster she was dealing with. Then, the scene is set back to 1942, in Rastenburg, East Prussia, where Miss Traudl Humps and four other applicants vie for the position of secretary to Hitler. They are greeted by Hitler's valet, Heinz Linge, and later by Hitler himself. Upon hearing Traudl comes from Munich, Hitler takes an immediate liking to her and asks her to take dictation as a demonstration of her abilities. Hitler is portrayed as a kind, fatherly employer who loves his dog and overlooks Humps' nervous errors, and she is hired.

Character introductions

The movie flashes forward to Hitler's 56th birthday on April 20, 1945. Traudl Humps — by now Frau Traudl Junge — is living in the Führerbunker with Gerda Christian and Constanze Manziarly, another secretary and private cook, respectively, for Hitler. Artillery fire wakes the trio, and Generals Wilhelm Burgdorf and Karl Koller explain the Soviets are only 12 kilometres from the city center. Hitler is now depicted as visibly aged, shaking, and in poor humour.

Hitler's birthday reception introduces the characters of Heinrich Himmler and his adjutant Hermann Fegelein, as well as Party Leader Martin Bormann and Walther Hewel of the foreign ministry. Hitler's intention to stay in the city is revealed, as is Fegelein's intention to leave if possible. Hewel and Himmler urge Hitler to try a diplomatic solution, which Hitler rejects out of hand. Two scenes later, Albert Speer arrives, and is introduced alongside Eva Braun; both reject Fegelein's advice to decamp to Bavaria. Speer advises Hitler to "be on the stage when the curtain falls." Eva's character is revealed by the remark "He is the Führer," in other words, he knows what is best.

The scene changes to a large office building, where papers are being burned and artwork moved. SS-Doctor Ernst-Günther Schenck is introduced, and the audience learns of his responsibility for public safety in Berlin, and the flight of the SS medical infrastructure in the city. Schenck fights with a superior to stay in the city as the SS pull out. In the government quarter, Himmler reveals he is secretly negotiating with the Allies, and Fegelein cautions him against treason.

A subplot revolves around a Hitler Youth soldier, Peter Kranz, and his father, who is missing an arm and begs his son to realize the war is putatively over and to come home. Peter's teenaged commander, a Leutnant in charge of an 88mm anti-aircraft/anti-tank gun, tells the father that he should be proud of his son, who will soon receive a medal from Hitler himself for destroying two Russian tanks that day. The father continues to try and convince the boy and his comrades to leave. They refuse, claiming that they will fight to the last man. Peter runs off, calling his father a coward.

In the Führerbunker, Generals Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl advise Hitler of the worsening military situation. Hitler flies into a rage when his impossible orders are not carried out. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, is introduced as an obsequious toady, and from his first appearance and for the rest of the film attempts to buttress the morale of the generals with grandoise talk of master plans and secret weapons. SS General Wilhelm Mohnke is also introduced at a bunker briefing, depicted as a square-jawed professional soldier ordered to defend the government district. Mohnke tells Hitler that a lot of civilians have to be evacuated, but this suggestion is refused. After the meeting, the officers agree that the Führer has lost his sense of reality. Fegelein suggests that they tell Hitler about it. However, all rationality is ruled out, since they have made their pledge to Hitler. Meanwhile, Hitler presents medals to the Hitler Youths' most successful tank hunters, including Kranz. He is watched by Goebbels and Speer.

Main plot

Afterwards, Junge discusses her future with her friends in the bunker, while Schenck and his adjutant camp outside the now emptied hospital. Schenck says that they should go, since they are not much use now. Eva Braun decides to hold a party for the inhabitants of the Bunker. Meanwhile, Hitler discusses his scorched earth policy with Speer. Speer begs Hitler to spare the German people, but Hitler claims that if they fail this test, they are too weak in nature and must be exterminated.

During the party, a shell explodes nearby. The music is interrupted. Eva Braun tries to ignore the shell and turns on the swing music. Junge then begins to feel sick. Suddenly, another shell lands and explodes right outside the windows, which shatter, sending a lot of dust and debris in the hall. The party has to be stopped, and Traudl shrieks in fear as she is led back into the bunker by Gerda.

The scene then shifts to the heat of battle, where General Helmuth Weidling is accused of retreating to the west. He argues that he is only a single kilometer from the front lines. Suddenly, a shell falls and the line is cut off. At this point, he decides to report to the Bunker. Weidling is received by Heer Generals Hans Krebs and Wilhelm Burgdorf. Krebs explains that the Führer has prohibited any western retreat, any officiers disobeying are to be arrested and shot on the spot. When Weidling denies this, he is told by Burgdorf to explain himself to Hitler.

His report impresses the Führer and he is assigned to take command of Berlin's defenses. Weidling is clearly not pleased with his new job. "I'd rather be shot than to have this honour," he mutters.

Back in the streets, Kranz is attempting to defend a position from a Russian tank attack. As the Tank Alarm is raised, he tries to jump out of the trench he and a soldier are in to fire. The soldier tries to stop him, but is shot down by a Russian bullet. As Kranz sees the soldier die, he gets scared, dodges the Russian gunfire and dives into a hole in the ground.

The scene then switches back in the bunker. Hitler is discussing the situation with the generals. Outside, Junge still naïvely believes that General Felix Steiner will attack and save them. But she is wrong, as Steiner cannot mobilize enough men. Upon learning this, Hitler tells every one to leave the room except the four highest ranking generals present.

Hitler then gives them a loud rebuke that can be heard by the people outside. Gerda begins to cry. When he has finished, Hitler states that he would prefer to shoot himself than to surrender. He offers Gerda and Traudl a flight south, but Traudl refuses to leave, since she cannot face her family.

Eva Braun reassures Hitler that she will not let him send her away, and the two kiss. When they have left the room, the generals have an argument of what to do next. Fegelein says that they should save themselves, while the other generals says that they cannot, since they swore to obey Hitler’s will.

Later, Eva Braun takes Traudl and Gerda out for a walk with Blondi, Hitler’s dog. This walk is cut short, due to an air raid alarm. The next scene occurs in the streets at night. General Mohnke and his few remaining soldiers are trying to defend a street, but the Volkssturm (the German Home Guard) are in the way. He asks for them to move away, and heads back to the Führerbunker. Apparently, they are under Goebbels' command.

Meanwhile, driving along the roads of Berlin, Dr. Schenck and his adjutant hear the sound of gunfire. They stop, and turn off the lights. Fortunately for them, the sounds are coming from a group of Germans. Two old men, far past military age, are in the process of being beaten by the Military Police, apparently for being deserters. Schenck tries to have them freed, but the MP leader says that those two are to be shot, and shoots them dead on the spot, in abject defiance of Schneck's appeal. Schenck can do nothing but watch.

Schenck and Mohnke both arrive at the bunker. Schenck moves past many wounded, and sees a man's leg being amputated without anaesthetic. He meets the attending physician, Dr. Werner Haase, performing the operation, with his assistant, Irma Flegel, and offers to help him. Meanwhile, Mohnke finds Goebbels, while he is arranging for his children to come to the bunker. Mohnke complains that the Volkssturm are being mowed down by the Russians. Since they are not armed, that they cannot fight and are dying in vain. However, Goebbels states that he feels no sympathy. He explains, with a perverted smile and a steadily rising voice, that those people gave the Nazis support, and they are to expect to be killed.

Afterwards, Eva Braun receives a phone call from a drunken Fegelein, her brother-in-law, asking her to leave Berlin. Fegelein has left the bunker, and is sleeping with his mistress. The Goebbels children arrive with their mother Magda, and sing for Hitler. Afterwards, Hitler, Eva, Gerda and Traudl discuss the various ways to commit suicide. At first, Hitler proposes shooting oneself through the mouth. Eva plans to take cyanide, since that will be a painless death. Hitler then gives Gerda and Traudl a cyanide capsule each, just in case they will need it.

Eva and Magda Goebbels then start typing their goodbye letters to their loved ones; Eva to her sister and Magda to her adult son Harald Quandt. While their letters are read out, various scenes in Berlin are shown.

We are shown Doctors Haase and Schenck struggling with an operation; Hitler shaking hands with his officers; Hitler taking some documents out of a safe and giving them to Heinz Linge; Linge and Otto Günsche burning the documents outside the bunker with Hitler watching; Schenck having a cigarette outside the bunker after an operation; the wounded and nurses ducking as a shell falls nearby above the hospital bunker; another wounded person brought to Schenck; and finally, the artillery post Peter Kranz served in runs out of ammunition — most of the Hitler Youth members run away, but a teenage girl, Inge Dombrowski, stays and begs her young commander to shoot her. He obliges, then is overcome with remorse that he decides to shoot himself.

Junge then walks into Hitler’s study to gather his written documents to type up. She sees Hitler staring intently at a portrait of a Prussian King, Frederick the Great. Meanwhile, Peter Kranz finds his friend Inge dead. He cries, and hides from the Russian soldiers. He falls into a small pit and passes out. Later he awakens to the sound of a shell landing, and the crying of several people who has lost their loved ones. He wakes up to find a partially buried body next to him and runs off.

Back in the bunker, General Keitel is ordered to leave, find Karl Dönitz, whom Hitler is convinced is gathering troops in the north, and help him in planning an offensive to recover oilfields. In spite of the absurdity of that order, Keitel leaves. Soon afterwards, a telegram is received by Rochus Misch, Hitler’s radio officer. It is from Fieldmarschall Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe. It is read aloud to Hitler by Bormann:

“My Führer, following your decision to stay in Berlin, do I have your approval as Vice Chancellor to immediately take charge of the entire Reich with the necessary power and authority? If I receive no answer by 10 pm, I will assume that you have been incapacitated. I will serve the well being of our people and our fatherland.”

In spite of Walter Hewel trying to defend Göring, Hitler breaks out in rage, calling Göring a fat, morphine-addicted traitor. He orders that he has to be arrested and removed from office. This is when Albert Speer arrives.

Speer meets Mrs. Goebbels and tries to persuade her to leave with the children, but she refuses, since she will not let her children grow up in a world without national socialism. Afterwards, he meets Eva Braun, who tells him that she is not afraid to stay with the Führer. Finally, he meets Hitler himself, and confesses that he had been ignoring and acting contrary to most of his orders given over the past several months. At the same time, he reinforces his personal loyalty to Hitler. This brings Hitler to tears, and he says that this is the worst betrayal of all. Speer leaves. It is the last time Speer will see Hitler alive. Meanwhile, Peter Kranz has finally returned home to his parents.

Back in the bunker, Hitler is surprised to see General Robert Ritter von Greim and flying ace Hanna Reitsch arrive at the bunker. The two had flown in through heavy gunfire to see Hitler, and von Greim had injured his leg. Later, in a meal, Hitler appoints General von Greim as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, and General Field Marshal. During the meal, Linge comes in with a report. It states that Himmler has attempted to negotiate surrender to the Allies through Count Folke Bernadotte. As a result, Hitler is enraged, and considers Himmler a traitor. He asks Greim and Reitsch to leave to join Dönitz immediately to ensure that Himmler receives his just punishment. He also orders Gruppenführer Fegelein, Himmler’s adjutant, to be brought to him. However, he is reported missing.

After the meal, one of Hitler’s doctors requests to leave Berlin, since most of Himmler's SS medical staff have already left. Hitler simply says that Himmler is a traitor, and he has done no wrong. Therefore, his application to leave Berlin is unacceptable. Meanwhile, Günsche enters, so he is asked to leave. Günsche tells Hitler that he cannot find Fegelein. As a result, Hitler is again enraged. He yells at Günsche, telling him that Fegelein is a deserter and traitor. Back at home, the doctor calmly kills himself and his family with a pair of hand grenades, while they are having dinner.

Eventually, military police officers find Fegelein, nude, passed out and highly intoxicated, in his apartment. His mistress was also present. He is arrested and brought back to the bunker. Eva Braun tries to plead for Fegelein’s life, but is refused. Hitler states that it is his will that Fegelein be court-martialled and shot.

In the following meeting with the Generals, Hitler is told by General Weidling that the Russians have broken through everywhere. There are no reserves, and air support has stopped. General Mohnke tells him that the Red Army is now 300 to 400 metres from the Chancellery, and that they can only hold out for a day or two at most. Weidling suggests that they try to break through the encirclement and attempt to escape to make a last stand. However, both Goebbels and Hitler are against this, since they don’t want Hitler to disappear like an inglorious fugitive. Before leaving, Hitler reassures the gathered officers that General Walther Wenck is on his way to save them all. He asks Krebs to telegraph Keitel, regarding the location of Wenck.

When he has left the room, the Generals discuss whether Wenck can hold off the Russians. Most of the Generals know that there is no hope. However, Krebs and Burgdorf are so obsessed with the need to obey Hitler’s will that they have lost all common sense. Krebs has failed to inform Hitler that Wenck cannot attack, and Burgdorf yells that they will never surrender. Meanwhile, Gruppenführer Fegelein is dragged out to an open square and shot.

Some time later, Traudl Junge dressed up in her best clothes and gets ready for Hitler’s wedding. She dictates the führer’s political testament for him. Meanwhile, the justice of the peace has arrived. While Traudl is typing the testament, Minister Goebbels enters, looking very depressed. He says that Hitler has ordered him to leave Berlin. Having always obeyed Hitler’s order, he will not obey this one, and stand by the Führer. He asks Traudl to dictate his personal testament as well.

While she is typing, Hitler is getting married to Eva Braun. He is witnessed by Goebbels, Bormann and Generals Krebs and Burgdorf. In the streets, General Mohnke runs across a heavily bombarded street to enter the Führerbunker. He spots a soldier wounded by a blast, and carries him to safety. He reports to the Führer, and tells him that they can hold out for no longer than 20 hours. He is told that the Western democracies are decadent, and that they will be defeated by the well-disciplined people of the East.

In the next meeting with the Generals, Günsche brings in General Keitel’s reply. It seems that all of the main armies are encircled or cannot continue their assault. Hitler is about to leave the room upon hearing this, but he is asked for instructions by Weidling. Hitler states that he will never surrender, and he forbids everyone else to surrender as well. He is led out of the room by Günsche. Hitler tells him that he is about to commit suicide with his new wife, and entrusts Günsche the task of disposing of his remains, so that the Russians cannot “place it in some museum” after the war. Gunsche reluctantly obeys what he conceives as a terrible order.

Günsche’s first step is to gather 200 litres of petrol. He asks Misch to phone SS-Sturmbannführer Erich Kempka, and tells him to gather all the petrol from the parked vehicles in the garage. Meanwhile, in the hospital bunker, Dr. Schenck finds Dr. Hasse, telling him that Hitler needs him. He notices that Hasse is dying of tuberculosis, but he still comes. He arrives at the bunker, and is escorted by Schenck and his nurse, named Irna Flegel.

They find some officers and generals drinking heavily. However, Günsche, the only sober person in the room sends them to Hitler. Upon seeing the withering Hitler, Flegel bursts into tears, begging Hitler to reassure them in the final victory. She is taken out to the room by Dr. Schenck, and is offered drinks. Hewel, Krebs and Burgdorf are also present, as well as a junior officer called Fritz Tornow (who seems to be cracking the most jokes about their hopeless situation). They are joined by Junge and Eva Braun, who tells the Generals to call her Frau Hitler.

Meanwhile, several soldiers have arrived with the petrol. Their leader reports in, but is simply asked to drink along by General Krebs. Schenck asks to leave the table, since he is not used to drinking heavily. He goes to use the toilet. He overhears a conversation between Dr. Hasse and Hitler. The doctor advises Hitler to take poison while he shoots himself. Since the cyanide takes effect in one to two seconds, there will be enough time to pull the trigger. Inside the toilet, he notices Hitler’s dog Blondi being tied up inside one of the stalls. When he is done, he sees Hitler watching Blondi being put down with cyanide. After several seconds of whimpering, the dog drops dead and is carried out of the room.

Afterwards, Eva Braun has her last conversation with Traudl Junge. Eva Braun confesses that she never liked Blondi. She leaves one of her best coats to Traudl Junge and asks her to try and escape. Traudl Junge comments on Hitler herself. She thinks that Hitler can actually be a caring person to the people who work for him, it’s only that he can say terrible things at times. When Traudl Junge has left the room, Eva dresses up for the suicide.

Climax

Hitler has his last meal, ravioli with tomato sauce, and thanks Constanze Manziarly for preparing it. After the meal, Hitler gives his final farewells to his men, and awards Mrs. Goebbels with his Nazi party lapel pin. After Hitler and his wife retreat to their room where they will kill themselves, Traudl can no longer take the grief, and runs off, only to find the Goebbels children sitting on the steps.

The Goebbels children want to see Uncle Hitler. However, Junge offers to make breakfast for them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Goebbels begs Günsche, who is guarding the door to Hitler's room, to let her see Hitler. She begs, screams and cries, and Hitler comes out. She begs him one last time to leave Berlin, but Hitler refuses. He states that, “Tomorrow, millions of people will curse me, but fate has taken its course.” Those are his last words. The crying Mrs. Goebbels is dragged off, and the door is closed.

While they are eating, Helmut, the only Goebbels son, tells Traudl that he likes the sound of loud booms above. Outside the room, all of the staff and Generals are waiting for the final moment. Eventually, a shot is heard, and Helmut cries, “Bulls-eye!” with excitement. Heinz Linge enters Hitler’s room, and finds him and Eva Braun dead. Günsche announces that the Führer is dead.

After that, every officer seems to start smoking, relieved to be unbound of Hitler's prohibition against smoking within the bunker. One of the Goebbels’ youngest daughters open the door of their room, and sees corpses being carried out of another room. Junge immediately shuts the door. The bodies are carried out to the garden outside the bunker. The bodies of Hitler and Braun are thrown into a bomb crater, then doused with petrol and set alight. The officers then salute the burning bodies. Suddenly, a shell falls nearby, and they are forced to return to the bunker.

Junge enters the room in which Hitler had committed suicide. She notices a handgun on the floor, with a pool of blood next to it, and quickly runs out. Back in the streets, chaos reigns. Some German soldiers are randomly hanging civilians, although two old men are able to escape, and are led to safety by Peter Kranz. The hanged men are shown with placards hanging on their necks. The placards stated that they were on the side of the Russians.

General Krebs and his small entourage march through, carrying a white flag, on their way to negotiate with the Russians, led by Marshal Georgi Zhukov. However, no agreements can be made, since Krebs refused to surrender unconditionally. Back in the bunker, Dr. Goebbels is in charge. Like Hitler, he is determined not to surrender. Krebs states that the Führer’s orders is final, and Weidling insists on protecting the civilians. An argument breaks out. One of the officers attempts to ask Misch to contact Zhukov, telling them that they will surrender. Burgdorf finds out, and threatens to shoot him.

In another room, Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger is preparing a morphine-based sedative for Mrs. Goebbels. It lasts for 3 to 4 hours. That night, they ask the children to drink it, saying it is medicine. The eldest daughter, Helga tries to refuse, but the drink is forced into her. Afterwards, Dr. Goebbels dictates his testament to Junge. When the children have gone to sleep, Mrs. Goebbels murders them all with cyanide capsules. After the murders, Mrs. Goebbels calmly sits down, much to Mr. Goebbels and Misch’s surprises, and begins to play solitaire.

The staff inside the bunker begin dressing up in military uniforms, and leave the bunker. However, Generals Krebs and Burgdorf stay behind. They have one last cigarette, and then they close the door behind them. Misch, who also stayed behind, hears two shots. He opens the door to find the two Generals slumped on chairs, each with a shot on their temples. He hastily covers their faces with two napkins.

Outside the streets, a truck with loudspeakers is driven around. It broadcasts General Weidling’s request for all German soldiers to cease fighting and surrender, since the Führer is dead. Peter Kranz returns home, only to find his parents killed by the mobs of frenzied soldiers. Back in the bunker, Misch is contemplating suicide, but he is interrupted by the Goebbels, who are dressed in fancy clothes.

Denoument

“The die is cast,” says Joseph Goebbels. The couple goes outside to the garden, where several soldiers with tanks of petrol are waiting. The Goebbels stand facing each other. They look at each other one last time. Dr. Goebbels draws his handgun, and aims at his wife’s chest. The camera than pans over to the waiting soldiers. Two shots are fired, accompanied by the sound of two bodies dropping onto the ground. After that, the soldiers take the petrol to the bodies of the Goebbels to cremate them.

Inside the hospital bunker, General Mohnke asks Dr. Schenck to leave with them. This is when Schenck says goodbye to Dr. Hasse. He tries to ask another soldier to accompany him. He refuses, and promptly shoots himself in the head. Their attempt to leave Berlin is not uneventful. They walk through a metro station, where some soldiers are being operated on or are slumped over, unconscious, while others are awarded the Iron Cross. Constanze Manziarly is seen taking out her cyanide capsule, and thinking whether to use it.

Suddenly, the group is caught in crossfire from the Russians. In the skirmish, Dr. Schenck’s adjutant is killed while trying to herd Gerda Christian to safety. Later, they stop and eat in the rubble, and there they meet up with a dazed and wandering Walter Hewel. Apparently, most of the people in his group are dead, and he is very frightened. He regrets leaving the bunker. He wanted to shoot himself, but could not. He is then offered food by Schenck.

Eventually, they arrive at a large road where they are encircled by Russians. Dr. Schenck advises Junge and Christian to attempt to cross the Russian lines, since they are women. However, Gerda refuses, stating that she will go no further. Traudl decides to give it a go, and the two friends part ways. Traudl is advised not to look at anyone in the eye while passing by the Russians.

Meanwhile, the men are trapped. Günsche spies into the distance with his binoculars, and sees the German soldiers destroying their weapons. He is alarmed, and informs his men. Their leader, General Mohnke, asks his men what to do. One of his men states that their honour will not allow them to surrender. Since they are SS soldiers, they cannot outlive the Führer. They must shoot to the last bullet before blowing their own brains out. Dr. Schenck argues that this is insanity, and needless killing. General Mohnke then asks the people who agree with the former officer to raise their hands. For some reason, just one person raising his hand causes all the rest to reluctantly follow through, all but Schenck. Schenck shakes his head in frustration.

While she is making her way through the crowd of Russians, Peter Kranz runs forwards and joins Traudl. The two hold hands and walk past the Russian soldiers, in spite of one drunken soldier offering Traudl a drink. Meanwhile, Schenck is trying to convince Hewel not to kill himself. Hewel explains that Hitler made him swear an oath to kill himself if he were to be captured by the Russians. He shows Schenck his cyanide capsule. Schenck states that since he is a diplomat, he is protected by international law. Before he could convince him further, a German commander enters, and announces that they have surrendered. The war is lost. At that point, Hewel bites his cyanide capsule and shoots himself in the head, the officer who proposed suicide also shoots himself in the temple, to the surprise of Schenck and the other men.

Later, Junge and Kranz have left Berlin. They sit and rest on the ruin of a destroyed building, thinking about what to do next. Peter Kranz spots a bicycle hidden in the rubble beneath a bridge, and takes it. The two ride off, towards the sunset. Then, the epilogue is shown, detailing what happened to all the main characters of the film, as well as some of the minor characters.

Conclusion

Finally, another scene of the interview with an old Traudl Junge is shown. She states that the Nuremberg Trials made her aware of the horrors of the Holocaust, but that she used to excuse herself on basis of her youth and ignorance and not being personally guilty of the atrocities of the Nazis. However, when she saw the memorial of Sophie Scholl, of her own age and executed on the same year when she was first employed by Hitler, she realized that she too could have found out about things and acted differently.

Commentary and reaction

Der Untergang is a scrupulously-researched historical drama, based largely on historical detail left by the Nazis, first-hand accounts of the final days of the Third Reich in Berlin, and the personal testimony of the people who knew Hitler. With treatment of the Third Reich still a sensitive subject among many Germans even 60 years after World War II's end, the film broke one of the last remaining taboos by its depiction of Adolf Hitler in a central role by a German speaking actor (as opposed to using actual film footage of Hitler).

The film neither glorifies Hitler and his inner circle, nor does it provide commentary on the crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Indeed, since most of the plotline takes place within the Führerbunker, the Holocaust and other atrocities are not addressed at all. Instead, the film is based on historical events, eyewitness accounts and the personal testimony of the people who knew Hitler.

The film's impending release in 2004 provoked a debate in German film magazines and newspapers. Germany's tabloid newspaper Bild asked, "Are we allowed to show the monster as a human being?" and some within the German press questioned whether Germany was ready for a portrayal that could provoke sympathy for the dictator.

Concern about the film's depiction of Hitler led New Yorker film critic David Denby to observe^* that

As a piece of acting, Ganz’s work is not just astounding, it’s actually rather moving. But I have doubts about the way his virtuosity has been put to use. By emphasizing the painfulness of Hitler’s defeat Ganz has ... made the dictator into a plausible human being. Considered as biography, the achievement (if that’s the right word) ... is to insist that the monster was not invariably monstrous—that he was kind to his cook and his young female secretaries, loved his German shepherd, Blondi, and was surrounded by loyal subordinates. We get the point: Hitler was not a supernatural being; he was common clay raised to power by the desire of his followers. But is this observation a sufficient response to what Hitler actually did?

With respect to German uneasiness about "humanizing" Hitler, Denby continued that

''A few journalists in wondered aloud whether the "human" treatment of Hitler might not inadvertently aid the neo-Nazi movement. But in his many rants in [the film Hitler says that the German people do not deserve to survive, that they have failed him by losing the war and must perish—not exactly the sentiments ... that would spark a recruitment drive. This Hitler may be human, but he's as utterly degraded a human being as has ever been shown on the screen, a man whose every impulse leads to annihilation.

After previewing the film, Hitler biographer Sir Ian Kershaw wrote in The Guardian^* that

Knowing what I did of the bunker story, I found it hard to imagine that anyone (other than the usual neo-Nazi fringe) could possibly find Hitler a sympathetic figure during his bizarre last days. And to presume that it might be somehow dangerous to see him as a human being — well, what does that thought imply about the self-confidence of a stable, liberal democracy? Hitler was, after all, a human being, even if an especially obnoxious, detestable specimen. We well know that he could be kind and considerate to his secretaries, and with the next breath show cold ruthlessness, dispassionate brutality, in determining the deaths of millions.

Kershaw went on to comment that "Of all the screen depictions of the Führer, even by famous actors such as Alec Guinness or Anthony Hopkins, this is the only one which to me is compelling. Part of this is the voice. Ganz has Hitler's voice to near perfection. It is chillingly authentic."

Addressing other critics like Denby, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote^*:

Admiration I did not feel. Sympathy I felt in the sense that I would feel it for a rabid dog, while accepting that it must be destroyed. I do not feel the film provides "a sufficient response to what Hitler actually did," because I feel no film can, and no response would be sufficient.

As we regard this broken and pathetic Hitler, we realize that he did not alone create the Third Reich, but was the focus for a spontaneous uprising by many of the German people, fueled by racism, xenophobia, grandoisity and fear. He was skilled in the ways he exploited that feeling, and surrounded himself by gifted strategists and propagandists, but he was not a great man, simply one armed by fate to unleash unimaginable evil. It is useful to reflect that racism, xenophobia, grandoisity and fear are still with us, and the defeat of one of their manifestations does not inoculate us against others. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel confirmed that the film's makers sought to give Hitler a three-dimensional personality. "We know from all accounts that he was a very charming man—a man who managed to seduce a whole people into barbarism."^*

The movie incorporates, as introduction and conclusion, the struggle for self-forgiveness of Traudl Junge, as voiced in the documentary Im toten Winkel. It was nominated for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in the 77th Academy Awards. The film also won the BBC's 2005 BBC 4 World Cinema award.

The film is set mostly in and around the Führerbunker. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel made an effort to accurately reconstruct the look and atmosphere of the bunker through eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs and other historical sources. According to his commentary on the DVD, Der Untergang was filmed in a district of Saint Petersburg, Russia which, with its many buildings designed by German architects, was said to resemble many parts of 1940s Berlin to an astonishing degree.

Cast

Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler
Alexandra Maria Lara as Traudl Junge
Corinna Harfouch as Magda Goebbels
Ulrich Matthes as Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels
Juliane Köhler as Eva Braun
Heino Ferch as Albert Speer
Christian Berkel as Obersturmbannführer Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck
Matthias Habich as Prof. Dr. Werner Haase
Thomas Kretschmann as SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein
Michael Mendl as General Helmuth Weidling
André Hennicke as SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke
Ulrich Noethen as Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler
Birgit Minichmayr as Gerda Christian
Rolf Kanies as General Hans Krebs
Justus von Dohnanyi as General Wilhelm Burgdorf
Dieter Mann as Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
Christian Redl as Generaloberst Alfred Jodl
Götz Otto as SS-Sturmbannführer Otto Günsche
Thomas Limpinsel as Heinz Linge
Thomas Thieme as Martin Bormann
Gerald Alexander Held as Walther Hewel
Donevan Gunia as Peter Kranz (a fictitious person)
Bettina Redlich as Constanze Manziarly
Heinrich Schmieder as Rochus Misch
Anna Thalbach as Hanna Reitsch
Dietrich Hollinderbäumer as Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
Ulrike Krumbiegel as Dorothee Kranz (a fictitious person)
Karl Kranzkowski as Wilhelm Kranz (a fictitious person)
Thorsten Krohn as Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger
Jürgen Tonkel as SS-Sturmbannführer Erich Kempka
Devid Striesow as Feldwebel Heinz Tornow
Fabian Busch as Obersturmbannführer Stehr (a fictitious person)
Christian Hoening as SS-Reichsarzt Dr. Ernst-Robert Grawitz
Alexander Slastin as General Wassili Iwanowitsch Tschuikow

and

Aline Sokar, Amelie Menges, Charlotte Stoiber, Gregory Borlein, Julia Bauer, Laura Borlein as the Goebbels children

Thomas Franke as Wachsoldat vor der Wolfsschanze (uncredited)
Karl Richter as Adjutant von General Keitel (uncredited)
Aleksandrs Petukhovs as SS-Sturmbannführer Stirlitz (uncredited)
Henning Peker as Wachsoldat vor der Wolfsschanze (uncredited)

Trivia

Bruno Ganz is the first German-speaking actor to play Adolf Hitler in a starring role.

Of the thirty-seven named real life people featured as characters in the film, Rochus Misch was the only one who was still alive when the film was released. As of 2006, he is one of the last remaining survivors of the Führerbunker.

In preparation for his role as Hitler, Bruno Ganz practised Hitler's distinctive Austrian/Bavarian accent, and studied Parkinson's patients in order to emulate the physical symptoms like tremors exhibited by those suffering from the disease.

Hitler's public persona is well documented through numerous audio recordings and films of major events (including the propaganda film Triumph of the Will), but only one known recording exists of Hitler in ordinary conversation. Ganz prepared for his role by studying this unique recording of Adolf Hitler, made during his attending Field Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim's 75th birthday reception on June 4, 1942, held in a railway carriage near the Finnish HQ during Finland's cooperation with Germany against the Soviet Union. A Yleisradio National Radio sound engineer named Thor Damen, who had been ordered to record the official birthday speeches and Mannerheim's responses, made the unauthorised recording using two recorders. Hitler did not allow recordings or photographs to be made of him in private.

As of July 2006, it is #40 on IMDB's list of top 250 movies of all time, making it the highest ranked German movie at that website, even before Das Boot.

The scene where Hitler presents medals to Hitler Youth volunteers was based on a historical photograph. The photograph is believed to be the last photograph ever taken of Hitler before he entered the Führerbunker for the last time.

External links

Der Untergang Official site (in German)
Official French site
Downfall - The Official Movie Website (U.S.A.)
The Downfall - estimation - events - exchange Interviews, background and forum

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