AMD 2 Derek Emelander

For this AMD I watched “Der Untergang” a WWII film that follows Hitler’s final days through the eyes of one of his secretaries. This movie is entirely in German with English subtitles so it was a great experience for understanding what is said in German. The movie starts out with Hitler interviewing five women to be his new secretary, and they are all dressed up and very excited to meet the “Führer”. Hitler starts the movie being very calm and composed, and almost charming at times, and it was very interesting to see how his change in attitude was portrayed, as the Allies got closer to Berlin. The setting is in Hitler’s private bunker in Berlin where he has assembled all of his advisors and military personnel. About halfway through the movie his advisors begin to realize that their war effort is doomed and try to convince Hitler of that fact. Hitler keeps convincing himself that they will be fine; all they need to do is reallocate the troops and they will be able to re-fortify the city. Once he starts hearing the shells and bombs hitting Berlin he finally accepts the fact that the Germans are going to lose the war. He then begins to figure out what he is going to do once the city is conquered. He then convinces all of his advisors and their families to commit suicide so that none of them will be taken captive. The movie ends with the Allies storming the bunker and finding all of the bodies along with some of the non-important personnel still alive and trying to dispose of the bodies. This movie gave a very interesting insight into WWII, and also one that not many people think about. I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it.