DOWNFALL

[Catcup]

Has anyone else here read The White Rose by Inge Scholl, and watched the German movie DOWNFALL?

The book is about the only organized German movement against Nazism in WWII, and the students who risked and lost their lives in an effort to speak out and wake up a nation hypnotized into a stupor by Adolf Hitler.

DOWNFALL is about the last days of the Third Reich, portrayed from the point of view of Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary who witnessed it all, and lived to recount her experiences. The movie opens and closes with actual footage of Junge, and her comments about how she was caught up in Nazism. What specifically caught my attention is how she answered the questions about how could she have been so close to Hitler and all the higher level people, yet NOT know about the extent of the Holocaust. Her comments at the end of the movie are particularly poignant when taken to heart compared to our involvement in a ministry that committed what I view as spiritual atrocities along the same line (while not nearly the same degree) as the Holocaust.

If you haven't done so yet, you might want to pick up The White Rose and give it a read. You really should know about the heroic deeds of the organization known as The White Rose. BTW living your life "like a candle in the wind" didn't come from Elton John. He lifted those words from Inge Scholl about the bravery of her sister in the face of National Socialism.

DOWNFALL is a stunning production that won Best German Film, awards from Bavarian Film Awards, and Bruno Ganz won Best Actor for his part as Hitler in this movie at the Santa Barbara Film festival. Unless you are fluent in German you will need the subtitles. However, the movie not only is historically quite accurate, but to watch the cognitive dissonance as Junge is caught up in the last days in the bunker with Hitler draws some interesting parallels from those of us who worked closely with TWI leadership while the ship of state began to take on water.

Give the book a read, and give the movie a view. Well worth your time, and it would be interesting to hear your perspectives.

[WordWolf]

Here's a quote I think relates in a way.

Martin Niemoeller said:

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out-

because I was not a communist.

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-

because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-

because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me-

and there was no one left to speak out for me."

[Belle]

Can't wait to read and watch, Catcup! Thanks a bunch!

[excathedra]

When, two hours before Hitler killed himself, she found herself alone with him in the conference room, waiting to take down his last will, she felt intensely that this was the moment of truth.

"I thought that now I would be the first person on earth to know why all this had happened. He would say something that explained it all, that would teach us something, leave us with something. But then, as he dictated, my God, that long list of ministers he so grotesquely appointed to succeed his Government, I thought -- yes, I did then think -- how undignified it all was. Just the same phrases, in the same quiet tone, and then, at the end of it, those terrible words about the Jews. After all the despair, all the suffering, not one word of sorrow, of compassion. I remember thinking, he has left us with nothing. A nothing."

[lilbit]

Catcup thanks for the info. I will be looking for these media memoirs. Another good read is a book titled "For Their Own Good". The authors last name is Miller. It gives an insightful account of how Hitler and Germany came to be. It speaks of German methodology and teaching practices on raising children which spawned such likes as Hitler and his hinchmen. V.P and my father came from the same influence.

[Catcup]

From Until The Final Hour, Junge's memoirs:

"I admit, I was fascinated by Adolf Hitler. He was a pleasant boss and a fatherly friend. I deliberately ignored all the warning voices inside me and enjoyed the time by his side almost until the bitter end. It wasn't what he said, but the way he said things and how he did things."

There is a very interesting parallel for those who want to read, between the way TWI folk idolized Wierwille, and how Junge idolized Hitler. Amazing how we humans can ignore our consciences in the face of a magnetic personality.

Also Junge wrote in her memoirs in 2002:

"We should listen to the voice of conscience. It does not take nearly as much courage as one might think to admit to our mistakes and learn from them. Human beings are in this world to learn and to change themselves in learning."