Martin Brady (London) and Helen Hughes (Surrey) p.94-114
2006 Issue 3
Abstract
Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Der Untergang (2004) is a film of considerable historical importance and one which has generated controversy and lively debate. Readily available with supporting material (and subtitles if required) it is thus an excellent resource for teachers. Marketed as “der erste deutsche Spielfilm, der die letzten Tage des NS-Regimes und die Person Adolf Hitler in Szene setzt”, Der Untergang is claimed to have finally broken a long-standing taboo. This article aims both to unpick this claim and to examine the significance of Hirschbiegel’s film in the context of earlier representations of Hitler. From Brecht’s Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui(1941) to Syberberg’s Hitler, ein Film aus Deutschland (1977) German dramatists and filmmakers have resorted to a range of estrangement devices in their portrayal of Hitler, thereby sidestepping the empathetic strategies of mass entertainment. What is striking about Hirschbiegel’s film is that it embraces these strategies and is unabashedly conventional in its narrative, mise-en-scène and cinematography. It represents, perhaps, a break with the Brechtian tradition of representing the Führer. The discussion in this article focuses on what might be termed adequate or legitimate representation – how can (or should) Hitler be portrayed in the so-called “post-memory era”?