MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Anatoly Korolev) - The 20th century has tied up Russian and German history into a double knot.
For almost a quarter century, these states were deadly enemies. There were times when they were locked in mortal combat.
Although the Russians won in World War II, Germany has survived, whereas the Soviet Union has disappeared from the face of the earth, like the Third Reich before it. This common historical fiasco makes our relations special. This is why we will always follow any change in the German national mentality, especially if it deals with the sensitive subject of Nazism and Hitler's role in the history of humanity.
Until recently, the status quo reigned supreme in this domain. Hitler was kept away from culture. For many years after the war, there was both a legal and tacit ban on any advertising of Nazism; the word "fuhrer" and his "Mein Kampf" were outlawed. In a nutshell, Hitler was not part of the national mentality. There were even some excesses in this respect - two masterpieces by Leni Riefenstahl - "Triumph of the Will" (a film about a Nazi congress in Munich), and "Olympia" (a documentary about the Berlin Olympics) were banned, and Riefenstahl became a victim of lengthy and highly dubious legal prosecution for contacts with the National Socialists.
But, all of a sudden, the fuehrer's image has reappeared on the horizon of German culture. The film "Downfall" was the first robin. It chronicles Hitler's last 12 days in his underground bunker in Berlin under attack by Soviet troops. His role belongs to the outstanding Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, best known to Russian audiences for Win Wenders' "Wings of Desire," where he starred as the Angel Michael. The angel falls in love with a circus acrobat and leaves heaven for the sake of human love.
Bruno Ganz is an actor of powerful positive charisma, like Russia's Alexei Batalov. Imagine Batalov playing the role of Lavrenty Beria. Clearly, we would all feel empathy for the butcher.
Bruno Ganz's Hitler is an amiable man who is fond of chocolate cake and is watching the collapse of his dream, the Third Reich, with anguish. Before, Hitler was portrayed in Germany as a third-rate character, or a crazy populist. More often then not he was not shown at all.
In "Downfall," Hitler is a timid dreamer. His manner of speaking was recreated with much care. Producer Oliver Hirschbiegel found the only tape where Hitler speaks normally. The actor copied his voice, giving the fuehrer a soft Austrian accent.
Will Hitler's image be true to life if it is based on the only exception from thousands of barking recordings? The movie divided German audiences - some did not accept it, whereas others applauded.
The Hitler phenomenon has not yet been fully brought to light. There is no sound explanation for the passion with which thoroughly rational Germany once fell for the fuhrer and his ideals. Friedrich the Great, who turned Germany into an indestructible ram, was the only one who enjoyed the same frenzied love of his compatriots. But he promised Germans life and prosperity, whereas Hitler emphasized that victory would be preceded by the heroic death of the cream of the nation.
Three days after he became chancellor, Hitler saw "UFA's Dawn," depicting a German submarine's losing battle with a British destroyer. The dying sailors demonstrated the triumph of spirit. Hitler was enthused by the movie. When a sailor in the film told his screen mother: "We Germans may not know how to live, but we have a real talent for dying," Hitler stood up and burst into applause.
One of the cult's mysteries is that Hitler did not promise victories but called for heroic death in the name of victory. He urged massive readiness to die, and paradoxically, his idea became reality - Germany died. But the devilish German passion for victory through death has not died with the fuhrer, and for this reason any changes in the psychological aura around the fatal apparition are so important.
"The Downfall" was followed by a new film with the same hero. A loud first run of Dani Levy's "Mein Fuhrer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler" has just concluded in Essen. The film immediately moved to the top of the German film market. This is a satirical comedy, and Hitler looks funny. The audiences scream with laughter at the idiot played by Helge Schneider. Hitler is a drug addict, he is fond of his dog, and puts a Nazi uniform on it; he barks himself, plays with boats, and crawls on the floor. He does not talk well, and Prof. Adolf Israel Grunbaum, a Jew from Dachau, teaches him proper speech manners.
But how amusing is all this? Nazi crimes are too awful for us to giggle at this teaching process. Nor is it funny that the Jew's name is Adolf. First, just because Hitler is no longer dangerous does not mean he is humorous. Charlie Chaplin took a great risk in 1940 with his masterpiece "The Great Dictator," in which a Jewish barber turns out to be the twin of Adenoid Hynkel, the dictator of Tomania. Chaplin, with his famous Hitler-style mustache and a caricature Nazi uniform, directly pointed to the object of his parody. It was taking such a risk that made Chaplin's comedy so brilliant and grotesque. A scene where the fuhrer plays with an inflated globe instead of a ball has gone down in the annals of cinema.
The film was made at a time when the Third Reich had conquered all of Europe. Nazi troops had seized Prague, Paris, and Warsaw. America was hesitant about entering World War II. Chaplin's movie was secretly shown to Hitler. The dictator went into a rage, and many feared for Chaplin's life.
Today, anyone can laugh at Hitler and get away with it, and this is why it is no longer amusing. Now a parody of Hitler is just an escapade, a slap at a corpse, and cannot be compared with Chaplin's brave deed. In a word, the comedy about Hitler is a dubious film.
At any rate, a public opinion poll (conducted by a popular weekly) has revealed that 58% of respondents reject the idea of a satirical film about Hitler, and a mere 35% support it. The Central Council of German Jews has also opposed the idea for fear that such a movie may provoke the growth of extremist attitudes.
These apprehensions are well grounded; the collapse of the Third Reich and Hitler's death do not mean that Germany has overcome its mystical and irrational longing for suicide. I was going to stop here, but I just learned that Rolf Hochhuth is going to stage his tragicomic play "Heil Hitler." He is a famous playwright; his comedy-drama gives serious scrutiny to the brainwashed nation and depicts comic pages of history, mocking the longing to turn evil into an icon...
This is all true, but it is also clear that a third appearance in two years means that the fuhrer's name is no longer taboo. Hitler has become news again.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.
