One of the more popular sources for .gifs and memes is Downfall (2004).  How many understand the context behind what these bits of data are parodying?  The film is about the last days of Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz), arguably the most recognizable name in history.  People may not know much about the past, but it seems somewhat universally held that he was a bad guy.  As a practicing Catholic, one has to be cautious about using such labels.  Nobody, including a man who led the world into the mass mania of slaughter that was World War II, is beyond God’s grace.  What we can pray for is that nobody else emulates his actions.  While we are still living, there is always a chance to square things with God if no one else.  Sadly, Hitler had no interest in such things, and later I will discuss some specific ways his words directly contract Catholic teaching.  For now, prepare yourself for a difficult review.

Traudl Junge (archive footage of herself) begins Downfall with a real, modern-day interview of herself in which she claims that, as a young woman (Alexandra Maria Lara), she had difficulty accepting Nazism.  What brings her to an interview with Hitler in 1942 is, as she put it, curiosity.  That inquisitiveness is rewarded when the apparently gentle Führer gives her a job as his personal secretary.  From there, we jump ahead to April of 1945, and the war is not going well for Germany.  What is left of the German government is confined to the capital city, Berlin, as Soviet armies surround it from the east, and the Allies keep pushing from the west.  Indeed, the Red Army has a birthday present for Hitler in the form of artillery shells hitting city center, forcing him to retreat into the bunker for the remaining week and a half of his life.  I do not know if you consider that a spoiler, but I am also not too concerned since this information is readily available on the internet.  It is at this point that many high-ranking government officials begin to make preparations for escaping, preferably to the Allies to avoid retribution for how Germany had treated Russia.  Before abandoning their leader, they all make a plea for Hitler to flee while there is still an opportunity.  One of these is Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), the diabolical architect behind the Schutzstaffel (SS), who is particularly keen on appealing to the Americans and British.  He is among the first to depart, claiming that he is going to organize the defense in the northern part of the country.  Instead, Hitler later learns of Himmler’s betrayal, attempting to surrender the country to the Allies.  If you see this film, the one word you will notice guaranteed to send Hitler into a rage is “surrender.”  He believes that the situation is not lost, that a German army from the south will save the country and allow the Third Reich its cherished final victory.  Please bear with me here because I am not telling this story in a linear fashion.  Doing so would make this already heavily historical movie all the more boring.  This opinion is shared by Hitler’s generals and marshals, the ones who have been able to make it to the bunker to listen to their leader yell at them over maps of the rapidly changing fronts, commanding fictional armies to move from one place to another.  It is a chaotic scenario, underscored by many more examples than I would have time to discuss.  One I will focus on is General Helmuth Weidling (Michael Mendl), who is forced to leave his post in the middle of the fighting to answer accusations that he had retreated.  Upon arrival, his report apparently impresses Hitler to the point that General Weidling is named overall commander of Berlin’s defense, even though another officer had already been named to that position.  While the military men are increasingly bewildered by the orders they are given, there remains a loyal cadre of people that come to the bunker to be close to the Führer, convinced that he will prevent what the title says will happen.  Traudl is among them, but her situation is less out of loyalty than not knowing what else to do.  Her life is as insular as Hitler’s, and later she will remark about his gentleness with her, but his monstrous orders he has her type do disturb her.  One of the lackeys that least questions Hitler is his minister of propaganda, the equally monstrous Joseph Geobbels (Ulrich Matthes).  He is joined by his wife, Magda Goebbels (Corinna Harfouch), and their six children.  Another addition is Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler), Hitler’s longtime companion and mistress.  She is also oblivious to reality, though she tries to inject some levity into the grim situation.  She is also there to marry Hitler, doing so in a small ceremony witnessed by a select few, like the Goebbels.  By this point, things in the city have deteriorated to the point that even Hitler is sending away anyone who thinks they can make good their escape.  They also prepare for the end, not just of the hostilities, but of their lives.  Hitler summons a doctor to give him instructions as to how to commit suicide given his shaky hand, a condition brought on by an assassination attempt earlier in the war.  Once that is sorted, he orders his bodyguard to take his body and burn it so that it does not fall into Soviet hands.  Events accelerate after his death.  Any semblance of order vanishes, and there are squabbles over who is in charge of what is left.  As for Traudl, she and a number of other remaining staff sneak into the streets in the middle of the night attempting to make their way west.  It does not take long for them to be surrounded by Russians.  She is told to start walking and advised not to look into any faces.  To help her, she is joined by Peter Kranz (Donevan Gunia), a boy who had been defending Berlin as a member of the Hitler youth, but who had become disillusioned by the fighting.  The last scene before we get some final words from the real-life Traudl is of them riding a bike together, far from death and destruction.

The ending of Downfall is a bit of fantasy.  In reality, Traudl never makes it to the Allies.  Instead, she is forced to return to Berlin where she is eventually captured and questioned.  It is one of only a few minor changes to the historical record based on my research.  That makes for a satisfying period piece, but that is the only “satisfying” aspect of the film.  Perhaps the worst part comes when Magda murders her children one-by-one.  Her first measure is to get them to drink something that makes them fall asleep, though the oldest resists.  After they are out, she re-enters their room and puts a cyanide capsule into their mouths.  I am sure you will not be surprised when I say that this is not a pro-life act.  Of course, you do not need to be Catholic to know the barbarity of a mother killing her offspring in support of such an evil cause.  Again, I do not think there is a moral code in any culture that justifies Hitler and the Nazis, but let us look at some specifically Catholic ways in which they can be judged.  One of the more striking statements that Hitler repeats is his lack of compassion for the German people at their most vulnerable hour.  It had been his regime that led them into this disaster, and yet the lack of success in the war is blamed on their weakness.  Compassion is a core principle for Christians.  It is typified by a concern for the suffering of others.  That is what Jesus did during His time on Earth, and what He asked His disciples who came after Him to do.  Hitler goes further with the perceived weakness of Germans.  He claims that true victory is achieved only by defeating weakness, which is done by showing no mercy.  The mercy part should be obvious in a Christian context.  It is the weakness part on which I would like to dwell because it made me think of Catholic saints like St. Teresa of Calcutta, affectionately known as Mother Teresa.  Her mission, like other Catholic religious before her, was to minister to society’s most vulnerable.  In other words, the kinds of people Hitler blamed for his failures, even though they were fighting the Soviets for every inch of ground for days.  What is maybe more ironic is that had he been called upon at the end, Hitler would have not been able to help defend Berlin given his infirmities.  He once saw himself as the savior of Germany, but a true Savior lays down His life for His flock.

There are a lot of lives laid down in Downfall, and few of them are willing.  I am also not sure you would be willing to see this film based on my description.  There is no getting around the fact that it is a tough watch, which is not helped by the violence and moments of nudity.  Though it does the history well, there is not much else going for it.