John Rosenthal of Translantic Intelligencer, a regular contributor to Policy Review magazine and a contributing editor for World Politics Review, has a post in Pajamas Media where he notes the whitewash attempted by the movie--and not merely by the movie's ignoring the fact that Stauffenberg was a loyal Nazi practically till the end:
Contrary to what the film repeatedly suggests, the fate of the Jews appears to have played little role in their considerations and it was certainly not the trigger that finally moved them to action. The systematic extermination of the Jews had, after all, begun long before the plotters resolved to act. Recent historical research has indeed shown that members of the plot were themselves directly involved in implementing the murderous policies of the Nazi regime vis-à-vis the Jews of the Soviet Union. In reference to this research, the leading German historian Hans Mommsen has concluded: “There is no getting around the fact that a considerable number of the persons who actively participated in the July 20th plot … earlier took part in the war of racial extermination [i.e., on the Eastern front], for periods at least approved of it and in some cases actively promoted it.” (Cited in the [1] Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 14, 2000.) In light of these findings, it is hardly surprising that one of the conditions that the plotters laid down for any potential peace agreement with the Allies was that no Germans should be tried for war crimes by foreign or international courts. This may have been an expression of self-preservation as much as “patriotism,” since some of them presumably had reason to believe that they could themselves face charges. [emphasis added]Evidence of the movie's interest in inserting Stauffenberg's concern for Jews into the movie may be assumed by the fact that at the end of Valkyrie, Peter Hoffmann--a Stauffenberg biographer whose work is apparently the source for Stauffenberg's rehabilitation in the movie--is thanked. Hoffmann's main 'irrefutable' proof of Stauffenberg's concern for Jews seems to be a phrase in a testimonial by Joachim Kuhn found in KGB archives--testimony that may well have been aimed by Kuhn to lessen the wrath of his captors, especially seeing how Kuhn was a subordinate of Major General Henning von Tresckow (played by Kenneth Branagh in Valkyrie), who had a role in the Eastern Campaign.
Another reason to assume that the movie went out of its way to introduce the Jewish theme to the movie is offered by Rosenthal:
“We have to show the world that not all of us were like him,” Cruise/Stauffenberg can be heard solemnly intoning toward the end of the film, presumably referring by “us” to Germans and by “him” to Hitler. When all is said and done, this seems indeed to be the whole point of the movie — which undoubtedly helps to explain why it received millions of dollars in financial support from the German government.There is certainly no reason today to keep hitting Germany over the head with the Holocaust, but neither is there a reason to use WWII movies to whitewash history.
Not that any movies coming out over the last few years would ever be aimed at propaganda.
Technorati Tag: July 20th Plot and Valkyrie and Holocaust.
6 comments:
This movie doesn´t try to whitewash history. This would be impossible. The point is: Stauffenberg and his group tried to stop Hitler, risked their lives and lost . Rosenthal´s conclusion (not mentioned in Daled Amos) Stauffenberg to have been worse than Hitler is well presented but still historically wrong.Rosenthal´s message is not driven by truth, but by hatred. He is picking the documents, which suit him and doesn´t mention the others. He is twisting the facts. Truth is holocaust was one among several reasons, why they tried to kill Hitler. They would have imediately discontinued concentration camps,This was on their program. Even Rosenthal doesn´t deny that, but of course he doesn´t mention it.
"Rosenthal´s conclusion (not mentioned in Daled Amos) Stauffenberg to have been worse than Hitler is well presented but still historically wrong"
Where in Rosenthal's article do you see that?
"They would have immediately discontinued concentration camps"
Really? Rosenthal indicates exactly the opposite:
But [4] the initial orders [German link] prepared by Stauffenberg in the event of Hitler’s death are known. They contain nothing about shutting down the concentration camps and refer not to the arrest of the Nazi leadership, but merely to its subordination to the Army leadership. Cruise/Stauffenberg’s “concentration camp order” appears to be a transfer from a draft declaration attributed to General Ludwig Beck and Carl Goerdeler, the leading civilian member of the plot who was slated to become chancellor if it succeeded. [5] The text of the declaration [German link] is available from the German Resistance Memorial Center. It is, however, accompanied by a note that indicates that the original document is “missing.” The extant text is a “reconstruction.” While Goerdeler may well have been put off by the brutality of the Nazis’ methods, incidentally, he too advocated the expulsion of Jews from German society.
At best, maybe they would have closed the camps--as a prelude to expelling the Jews from Germany. But without the original document, they is not definite.
I don't know enough about the bios of the principals to answer the specific issue vis-a-vis the Holocaust. I do know that Stauffenberg certainly was no democrat, but a monarchist (like most of his class), and was no less anti-Semitic than the average German (or Frenchman, or Brit).
I do however object to the lazy and inaccurate reference to Stauffenberg, Beck, Treschkow et al as "Nazis". They were not, and it smacks of old wartime propaganda or Sgt Rock comic books casually to apply that term to all Germans or all German soldiers.
How about the fact that Cruise and his movie-wife both have dark hair but all their movie-kids are blonde.Thats ridiculous.
How do you define Nazi, then? Were they Nazis in the beginning and then recanted? What beliefs did these people give up that would make then merely loyal Germans.
I guess that is the underlying issue that Rosenthal has with the movie.
I would be interested in what you think.
Just to be clear, my comment was directed to 'solicitr'
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