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.This task is facilitated by casting in the role ofJunge Alexandra Maria Lara, who is of Romanian origin and, althoughshe lives in Berlin and is one of the greatest stars of German cinema ofher generation, is also a transnational actress, who played in Control(2007) by Anton Corbijn and The City of Your Final Destination (2009)by James Ivory.Lara, metaphorically speaking, de-germanises and de-nazificates Junge, rendering her as a nice girl who happened to be closeto Hitler.Her role as the young Junge might also convey the messagethat Hitler had a wider appeal, not only to Germans, but also to citizens Our Hitler 89Figure 2.4 Bruno Ganz as Hitler in Der Untergang (Downfall, 2004), directed byOliver Hirschbiegelof many other European countries, such as Czechoslovakia, Romaniaand Denmark.Another means facilitating our identification with Jungeis cinematography.The camera frequently shows Junge s face in close-up, which, by turn, looks at and identifies with the suffering Hitler.At the same time, it makes us realise that Junge begins to understandthe role Hitler played in the misery of fellow Germans and distancesherself from Hitler.The part of Hitler s body on which the camera mostfrequently focuses is his trembling hand, kept behind his back, a signof the Parkinson s disease which he allegedly suffered from in the lastperiod of his life, and a metaphor for his weakness as a politician.BrunoGanz, who was widely praised for his role, appears very much like Hitleras we know him from newsreels, due to his thick Austrian accent, thepersonal mannerisms and his physical likeness to Hitler (Figure 2.4).He also seems similar to him, paradoxically, by his humanity , bestrevealed by his sad smile.As previously mentioned, this humanity wasexcluded from earlier fictional representations, whose purpose was toridicule Hitler or focus on his viciousness.Not surprisingly, the main criticism directed towards Hirschbiegel sfilm was for humanising Hitler: showing him as a man who has notonly bad features, but also some good ones, such as being an under-standing boss.In my view, however, such a representation does notserve to exonerate Hitler, but exonerates ordinary German people.Thisis because if Hitler was shown as a monster, it would be more difficult 90 European Cinema and Intertextualityto understand and forgive his grip on the German psyche.Furthermore,Hirschbiegel qualifies Hitler s good side in a similar way that Spielbergrelativises the good side of Amon Goeth in Schindler s List or even usesit to demonstrate that humanity in one area does not guarantee suchhuman behaviour in a different area.19Hirschbiegel further exculpates ordinary Germans by pointing toHitler s treatment of his own nation merely as a means to fulfil hisgrandiose plans, not as people of flesh and blood.This instrumentaland abstract approach to his countrymen is conveyed by the sendingof children from Hitlerjugend to take part in combat and using themap of Europe and the model of Berlin not as representations of placespopulated by real people, but as models of a reality he wanted to createirrespective of human cost.We see this side of Hitler in a scene whenhe tells Speer that it is good that Berlin is bombed, as it will be easierto clear the debris than dismantle what exists.Such a display of a madidealism indirectly validates the pragmatism of German survivors of thewar, which was a subject of criticism from the generation of their chil-dren, as manifested in the New German Cinema of Wenders, Kluge andFassbinder.By showing that Hitler does not care about his people, onlyabout his plans, Hirschbiegel also likens the Germans to the Jews, whowere also merely pawns in Hitler s grandiose plan of creating a perfectreality.Such representation also fits the scenario of German heritagecinema, as previously discussed.The structure of the film further helps to divide the Nazi universe intobad Hitler, good albeit misguided ordinary Germans.Downfall begins inNovember 1942, when 22-year-old Traudl (then named Humps), receivesthe post of Hitler s private secretary, beating to the job four other femaleapplicants.The questions these young women ask Hitler s adjutant andtheir behaviour prior to the interview give the impression that they areall in love with Hitler, confirming the opinion that he was a true leaderof the German nation, not a cruel dictator who forced a society intosubmission.Yet, the reason for representing the rapport between Hitlerand German citizens is not to emphasise the guilt on the part of the lat-ter, but their ignorance.It is not an accident, in my view, that as thosemost charmed by Hitler Hirschbiegel chose a group of young Germanwomen.In popular cinema and literature young women often encap-sulate (excusable) silliness and, as I mentioned, Junge herself talks onmany occasions about her ignorance.However, by excluding any othersections of German society which supported Hitler, with the exceptionof the top Nazis, Hirschbiegel uses the silly young women as a synec-doche of all ordinary Germans , suggesting that their main sin was also Our Hitler 91their ignorance, not a shared desire to annihilate Jews and conquer theworld.A Polish reviewer described Hirschbiegel s Hitler as a shaman whocharmed and cheated an innocent nation (Wojciechowski 2004: 12).Then we are taken to Hitler s last days, inside and outside Hitler sbunker, witnessing the different responses to Germany s demise, fromsuicide to the decision to escape.These responses allow for the intro-duction of moral order into this apocalyptic reality.Broadly speaking,those who decided to live are morally saved by Hirschbiegel; those whodecided to die, are condemned.Of all the characters the greatest sympa-thy is shown for Junge, Albert Speer and Doctor Ernst-Günther Schenck.Not only does the camera identify with their points of view, but nowand again we see their generosity and common sense, which the otherparticipants of the drama and especially those who decided to take theirown lives are lacking.Speer, for example, attempts to dissuade Hitlerfrom applying the policy of scorched earth in order to save Germanand non-German lives.Junge does the same on a smaller, female scale,pleading with Magda Goebbels not to kill her own children.Schencksaves the lives of those who became injured during the Russian attackon Berlin.Hirschbiegel also poeticises Junge s escape from Berlin, giv-ing her a small boy as a companion, a symbol of Germans embracingthe future and of the chance of rebirth
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