Transcript Military Breakdown

Military Breakdown:
Film Representation of the Final Years
of the Second World War
War on the Eastern Front
• 22 June 1941- Operation Barbarossa: The first
phase of the German invasion of the Soviet
Union.
• Initially successful due to the threepronged attack from the north, center and
south. In the early stages German troops
encircled the cities of Minsk, Zitomir and
Berdicev.
War on the Eastern Front:
A Turn for the Worse
• Early reports from the front estimating that less
than half of the one hundred sixty-four Soviet
military divisions were capable of combat
proved too low. Ninety-three of the divisions
remained intact and capable of participating in
combat missions.
• Quick reinforcement of the Soviet defenses
helped to stall the German advance.
Winter Descends
• As the war on the eastern front dragged into the
winter months German troops continued the
battle into Leningrad and Stalingrad.
• The elongated German front (stretching from
the Black to Baltic Sea) left the troops
vulnerable in the rear.
This vulnerability,
apparent to the Soviets, eventually sparked the
Soviet winter offensive strike that trapped the 6th
Army in Stalingrad.
Stalingrad: Introduction to the Film
• Stalingrad, the 1993 film by Joseph
Vilsmaier, is a film of intense imagery
that portrays the realism of war.
• Four focal characters: GeGe, Lt. Hans
von Witzland, Fritz Reiser and Manfred
Rohleder.
• The characters are easy to confuse, as
the plot focuses more on the horror and
eventual collective disdain for war than
the multiple personal struggles of one or
two individuals.
• Forced to ask whether or not a soldier
can have values and still ruthlessly kill
people, the viewer must also question the
character of a man fighting for something
in which he says he no longer believes.
Stalingrad: Dramatic Elements
• The drama of the film draws
from vivid displays of
battlefield
confrontation,
interaction with leaders and
the
disillusionment
of
soldiers.
• It reminds the viewer that the
nature of hand to hand
combat embodies no glory;
that the kill or be killed
mentality sparked by such
activity
commonly
desensitizes a soldier to
further combat.
Stalingrad: Letter from a Soldier
“You were supposed to die
heroically, inspiringly, movingly, from
inner conviction and for a great
cause. But what is death in reality
here? Here they croak, starve to
death, freeze to death – it’s nothing
but a biological fact like eating and
drinking.
They drop like flies;
nobody cares and nobody buries
them. Without arms or legs and
without eyes, with bellies torn open,
they lie around everywhere. One
should make a movie of it; it would
make “the most beautiful death in
the world” impossible once and for
all.”
- Letter from a soldier in Stalingrad
Stalingrad: In Hitler we trust?
• From a motivational standpoint, most of the officials
represented in the film base their decisions on fervent
faith in Adolf Hitler and his ideologies.
• The captain (who antagonizes Lt. Witzland) and Müller clearly
represent Nazi sentiments. Both individuals discriminate against nonAryans as well as Aryans they deem sub-par in loyalty to Hitler.
• Lt. Witzland and his soldiers symbolize the disillusioned
Germans in Stalingrad; intelligent enough to see the
baseness of their superiors, yet unable to break away
from their rule entirely.
Stalingrad: A Lost Cause
•
Before Lt. Witzland and his soldiers
leave for the eastern front (fresh from
the battlefield in Africa) they believe
that they will conquer Stalingrad in a
matter of days. However once they
reach the city, they realize the
hopelessness of their situation and that
they serve only as pawns in offensive
and defensive actions.
• Any belief in Hitler and his promises
to send relief no longer carry weight.
The soldiers know that they have no
way out, as Hitler forbade
capitulation to the Soviets.
•
When the characters finally attempt to
desert the army they do not meet
success, and eventually freeze to death
in a Soviet field.
Der Untergang
• The decisive loss at Stalingrad and disgraceful capitulation of the 6th Army by
General Paulus on 3 February 1943 did not stop Hitler from continuing to
wage war against Russia and later the Allied forces in the west.
• However, as seen in Der Untergang, Hitler’s inability to position troops to
defend Germany (and specifically Berlin) led to betrayal in the upper echelons
of the Nazi party and the further senseless sacrifice of German soldiers and
civilians.
Der Untergang: Betrayal
Heinrich Himmler
Der Untergang: Desertion
Albert Speer
„Wenn der Krieg verloren geht, ist es vollkommen
egal, wenn das Volk mit untergeht. Ich könnte
darüber noch keine Träne weinen, denn es hätte
nichts anderes verdient.”
Adolf Hitler