Peace and War

Howdy!

I’ve watched many movies lately, including the German film Downfall. It was about the fall of the Third Reich in Nazi Germany (circa 1945), detailing the last week or two before the Germans surrendered to the Russians in Berlin. I can’t claim to be an expert in WWII history, but I know enough for it to be fascinating viewing. The portrayal of Hitler as flesh and blood, instead of his usual salutary figure and that ridiculous moustache – I must admit that just before he blew his own head off, I actually cried. Tears were shed because of the absurdity of his situation, how a once powerful man who convinced an entire nation that the killing of 6 millions Jews was the right thing could not live with his own destructibility and his own delusions. How the people by his side loved him only because they didn’t know any better.

The director was heavily criticised for this portrayal of Hitler of anything other than a megalomaniac, but I think people who choose to watch this film would already know, that no matter how you paint ol’ Adolf, it wasn’t going to change your perception of the war, or of him. As I walked out of the theatre, there was only a sense of completeness. That the madness was finished. And then I thought, “Was it?” – think of the war in the Middle East, the civil wars in Africa. People will keep recycling, but the same old issues prevail. It feels as if we haven’t really come very far from ancient times of war. It just disguises under a different name. The new wave of colonialism is just less evident, but even more persistent and deadly. Because the world gets bigger, we get smaller, and hence, more insignificant. There is a quiet desperation for peace, and it makes me wonder as to what lengths does one need to go to make that happen.

For more information on the movie, click Downfall