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Valkyrie
2008 · Film · 121 min
Directed by Bryan Singer
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.
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3 comments on Hacker News
20th century history was covered in depth because much of it can be taught with an American Exceptionalism slant easily. I'm more talking about pre-Roman Empire times.
Though you just reminded me of a co-worker I had while I was in University. She had attended a private Christian High School and apparently world history was optional there because (we worked at a movie rental place) when Valkyrie released I commented on how I didn't care to watch it because I already knew how it would end. She asked what I meant and how I knew, and I had to explain that since Hitler survived the bombing attempt to shoot himself in his bunker at the end of WW2 (or be shot, or fake it, whatever your chosen explanation/conspiracy) in Europe that Tom Cruise's character pretty obviously had to fail. She had _no idea_. I was pretty baffled. My grandad enlisted in the army in the tail end of WW2. 2 generations back. And she knew nothing about it except that it had happened.
Many people identified themselves with Russia and Russian culture even though they never even set foot in Russia . It happens after having the Russian potrayed as the enemies in basically all American movies.
Sure in the end the F-14 blows up the Mig, but it's a close battle nonetheless and the Mig looks just as cool as the F14,
The point is that if we don't want to deal with neo-Nazi or the Nazi symbolism that disturbs us, then it should not be brought up every 5 minutes in schools and movies and culture in general.
If 1 billion people watches "inglorious Bastards" or "Valkyrie", sure 95% will side with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, but there will always be 5% who'd root for the opposition. 5% of 1bn people is 50 million people.
Of the 50 million people who root for Nazi in movies there will be some 50,000 who think that such a powerful movement had to be onto something and decide to become sympathizers.
That's why there are typically multiple secret services (with different missions but similar skillsets). They are encouraged to spy on each other. None is allowed to dominate everyone else.
Remember the movie Valkyrie? It provides another vivid illustration of what can be done to reign in a secret police once the army rolls in. The very same thing happened in the USSR during the power struggles after Stalin died.