Hitler: The Rise of Evil (5 Stars)

True Stories #1

Name: Adolf Hitler

Lived: 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945

Film shows: 1899 – 1934, mainly 1919 to 1934

Film made in 2003

This is the first in a row of true stories that I intend to watch over the next two months. Many of the films are biopics, but others aren't, even if they're primarily concerned with one person. The film I watched today is a good example of the difference between biopics and normal true stories. A typical biopic of Adolf Hitler would show his whole life, or at least the most significant deeds in his life. This film begins early in his life, but it ends in 1934, before the main events began for which Hitler is remembered. Other films that I intend to watch show even smaller excerpts from a person's life.

I originally intended to make January 2022 my True Story month, but when I counted the films based on true stories in my film collection I realised that I had almost 50 films. I managed to cut my list down to 40, but I couldn't bare to remove any more. I wanted to start on January 1st, but after the death of Betty White "Lake Placid" took priority.

True stories aren't always completely true. I don't just mean mistakes in a film. Often changes are made for the sake of dramatization, to make a film more exciting or easier to understand. If it's only small factual changes, I'll ignore them and not even mention them in my review. If there are large changes, I shan't include the films in my list.

The German Wikipedia page includes a long list of historical inaccuracies in the film. Most are trivial mistakes, such as the wrong telephones being shown in offices. They don't detract from the quality of the film.

"Hitler: The Rise of Evil" is a film that's divided critics. The majority heaped praise on it, but a large number criticised it for showing Hitler in a favourable light. They don't get it. The film shows Hitler in his formative years, before he committed his major acts of evil. We see bigotry and racism in his early years, but we also see him as a passionately patriotic man struggling to make Germany great again. No man is all good or all bad. The film does its best to paint a neutral picture so that the viewer can understand what motivated him. He wasn't a man who suddenly dropped from the sky and killed six million Jews. The film shows his development, his triumphs and his failures, in the 15 years before he came to power.

The film is based on several historical sources, but the main source is the memoires of Ernst Hanfstaengl, a close friend of Hitler until 1934. He and his wife Helena witnessed things that nobody else did. For instance, after the failed putsch in 1923 Hitler attempted to shoot himself in Hanfstaengl's house, but Helena talked him out of it. This is doubted by many historians, but I see no reason for Hanfstaengl to lie about it.

Ernst and Helena Hanfstaengl are the main supporting characters in the film, alongside the journalist Fritz Gerlich, who was so passionate in his enmity of Hitler that his wife accused him of being the same as Hitler. The SA boss Hans Rohm is also prominent, initially a close friend of Hitler, but later falling into disfavour. 

People think of Hitler as a monster, but he was also a man. Most people today say they would never follow such an evil person. It's easy to say those words in retrospect. Hitler was a talented speaker with great charisma. He could win over his biggest enemies with his words. Without naming names, I have friends that I think could fall under the influence of a man like Hitler. We need to learn from history. Once a man like Hitler is in charge of a country, it's already too late. We need to stand against him before he comes to power.

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