Absolute, All-Consuming Madness

If one were to turn back the clock and set things right, I know that the first wrong that needs to be corrected would be the onslaught of the terror forged by the NSDAP. The Holocaust. The lives of more than 60 million soldiers and civilians. If the last few days of madness could be summarized and retold to the New World, Downfall would be the answer. The Wolf's Lair is recreated with compelling acumen and the series of events leave one in absolute disbelief. Did this really happen? How could someone be so blind?

Downfall is not for the weak of heart. Downfall is not a tale that'll give you a careful description of the Allied triumph in April of 1945. The movie begins in the heart of the Wolf's lair; his search for a new secretary, the brief introduction to a 'human' side of the Fuhrer and the events that followed six months after. I strongly believe that his demeanor in the presence of his generals completely refutes his otherwise warm and gentle mannerisms. That is the true nature and face of the demon. Deceit.

Each member of the Wehrmacht truly believed that the end was near. As the Red Army tightened its grip on Berlin, the bombing continued and the city burned. The civilians who tried to flee for their lives were rounded up by the SS and shot by being labelled as deserters. If a commander decided to retreat or relocate his command post to save his battalion, he was shot for treason. Anyone who even mentioned 'surrender' was considered an enemy of the Reich.

The 9th Army, Felix Steiner and Karl Donitz were the only hope for Berlin. According to Hitler. Which was not the case since the Red Army had blocked off all routes to and from Berlin. The Fuhrer refused to believe that his Reich wouldn't last. In his early dialogue with War Minister and Architect Albert Speer, he explains how the particular opportunity at hand has given the 'Aryans' a chance to redeem the world and rid it off all other races and most of all, Jews. This was one chance they had to save Europe before Eastern discipline would rise and take over. The Holocaust is a witness to this twisted sense of cleansing.

Even in such perilous times, the Nazis try to celebrate in their bunker as Eva Braun proclaims that she wants to dance. News of surrender enrages the Fuhrer and his solutions to this disbelief are perilous! Hermann Goering turns on him (in acutality, it is a surrender which Hitler claims as the worst form of betrayal), so does Heinrich Himmler, his most loyal and wily accomplice. The final scenes of the feature are harder to watch as the SA brings in more news of Berlin's frontline and the fall of the Wehrmacht. The generals commit suicide and so does the Fuhrer and Eva. The political testimonies recorded by Traudl Jung, dictated by Hitler and Goebbels are something to hear. Thats why I call it, absolute all-cosuming madness.