Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Valkyrie Movie


Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg


I am no follower of Tom Cruise nor the action-type movies he specializes in. I am, however, interested in German history, specifically the Third Reich, so I made it a point to go see the movie, "Valkyre" today. I know Cruise was already getting criticized for his role in this movie, and I myself expected him to be a poor choice to portray Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, the man who set the bomb that nearly killed Hitler on July 20, 1944 (especially since he had earlier proclaimed that he was stunned to hear the the story was actually true-duh).

I think for American audiences, it lends more authenticity to German movies if the actors are at least British and have some sort of accent. (Actually, I find German movies about the Hitlerian era to be more authentic because they have a closer cultural grasp of the way the figures really were.) At any rate, Cruise (in my opinion) kept his over-acting under control and did a credible job.

I also found it interesting that the film was shot in some of the actual places where the events occurred, such as the Bendlerblock in Berlin (Army headquarters). I was hoping that there would be some scenes shot in the Franconian town of Bamberg, which was Stauffenberg's last post of duty, and where his wife, Nina, was living. Unfortunately, there were only verbal references to Bamberg, a charming city located near where I had been stationed in my Army days in Germany (Erlangen).

At any rate, I enjoyed the movie. Were there any parts where Hollywood took dramatic license? In certain parts, perhaps, to avoid lengthening the film, such as Stauffenberg's turn against Hitler, which apparently came to pass on the Russian front. In addition, in one scene, Josef Goebbels slips a cyanide capsule in his mouth when troops come to arrest him, then removes it after turning the soldiers back over to the side of the Fuehrer. That may or may not be true, but it is the first I have heard of the cyanide capsule. In another scene, one of the conspirators, Ludwig Beck, is allowed to shoot himself. In actuality, his attempts to kill himself were unsuccessful and, after several minutes, he was dispatched by a soldier.

What the film left out was the fact that after the failed attempt, Stauffenberg's wife Nina was arrested by the Nazis under their Sippenhaft law, which punished the families of "traitors" as well as the individuals who carried out the acts. Pregnant at the time, she was imprisoned and her children taken away from her. They were reunited after the war.

After the war, Nina continued to live near Bamberg. She died in 2006.

8 comments:

  1. I was wondering you were going to comment on this. It looks okay, but I feel like I can't ever take Tom Cruise seriously, especially with an eye patch on.

    Speaking of Nazis, did you ever read that page about the BNP (whom Lionheart supports)?

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  2. I won't go see this film, but not because of the subject matter. I find Tom Cruise's views and behavior unacceptable and will not spend my hard earned money to watch any movie he is in.

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  3. Findalis,

    There are a lot of actors I won't go to see, like J Fonda, Sean penn, Susan Sarandon, and many others. I agree with you that Cruise acts like an immature jerk.

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  4. Bryan,

    I still need to look into the BNP some more. (Today is NFL day, however.)

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  5. Gary, I have a problem with the whole subject. Germany has a hard time dealing with history. Burda Verlag (a publishing company that publishes "Bunte") gave Tom Cruise an award, Bambi, (it's the German "Oscar") for "courage" playing Stauffenberg. At the award ceremony they were practically kissing Tom Cruise' butt. Before that all the papers chastised him for being a Scientologist. The ceremony was disgusting in my eyes. The movie hadn't even come out at that point.
    Now, Stauffenberg himself is not seen as a hero by everyone, you can research that yourself.
    I am just writing you a quote from a letter he wrote to his wife in September 1939 from Poland: "unglaublicher Pöbel, sehr viele Juden und sehr viel Mischvolk. Ein Volk, welches sich nur unter der Knute wohlfühlt. Die Tausenden von Gefangenen werden unserer Landwirtschaft recht gut tun".
    Not a word of that in the movie. He was not against Hitler, he just didn't want some lowly corporal to take the place that should have rightfully belonged to a German aristocrat, which Stauffenberg was.

    I am off to Paris for NewYears tomorrow and won't read your comment until the 2.of January.

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  6. Ingrid,

    Good comment. The people who took part in the Resistance did so for various reasons. Many were not foes of Hitler in 1933. Some were against him because Germany was losing the war. Stauffenberg apparently turned against Hitler while on the Russian front.

    By the way, there is an interesting side note about July
    20, 1944 in regards to Erlangen.

    Gen Karl von Bodenschatz was one of those injured in the bomb blast. Bodenschatz was at the time, Goering's adjutant. He was a flyer in the Richthofen Squadron in WW1, stationed in Erlangen in the 1920s, and was processed after the war by the Erlangen Spruchkammer (de-nazification Court). He lived in Erlangen until his death in 1979. I assume he is buried in Erlangen, but I don't know where. His widow was still living in an Erlangen old folks home recently and may still be living.

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  7. Boycott the movie Valkyrie!

    http://www.boycottvalkyrie.com

    Watch the movie Valkyrie online streaming, don't pay to see it. Don't contribute to Scientology!

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  8. I don't go to movies to see history revealed; movies based on so-called true stories fail if they try to be exactly like the truth. I go to be entertained. Plot, scenery, character, and dialogue are what entertains me.

    That a story is based on some facts based in history may make it easier to personally identify with the film, I never assume anything in a film is true, other than what I know from what I read from other sources.

    Yes, Cruise is an idiot, but since I disagree with so many in Hollywood I have decided not to boycott their films since to do so would limit me to about 1% of all movies made.

    Amazingly, even though I knew Hitler did not die on July 20, the film did manage to arouse quite some tension after the assassination attempt.

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