Interest in Hitler Heats Up

By ROB PATTERSON

At the risk of maybe offending some readers, I’ll say this both sarcastically and seriously: Hitler – he’s hotter than ever as an entertainment quantity.

Some might chalk this up to the rise of Donald Trump to the presidency and the parallels that could be drawn. His first wife Ivana did claim that he kept a book of Hitler’s speeches, “My New Order,” on his bedside table. And one valid comparison would be how Trump’s speeches, similar to Hitler’s, tap into deep-set fears and resentments and can inspire a cult-like devotion. As well as how both have targeted religious and ethnic groups as enemies and a frequent use of “big lies,” etc. etc. But it’s still unwise to go too deeply into viewing the two men similarly, I believe, even if understanding Hitler better in these times can be useful.

Of course the German fuhrer who was responsible for the deaths of some 50 million people has certainly been a subject or presence in many books and movies in the 64 years I’ve been alive. Yet it is significant how many titles about Hitler can be found on the online screening services.

I do find the man endlessly fascinating as a study in human psychopathology. And the Second World War was the major historical event of the 20th Century. Plus there is drama galore in his story. And huge abiding interest if the plethora of Hitler and Nazi related offerings on the major streaming services is any indication.

And it seems, always more to be learned, even if I already felt well informed on him after reading the exceptionally comprehensive 1993 book “Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives” by historian Alan Bullock, whose “Hitler: A Study in Tyranny” (1952) remains a monumental study of the man. In the case of the Stalin book, the parallels are revelatory.

The 10-part documentary series “Hitler’s Circle of Evil” streaming on Netflix is certainly a fascinating and informative study of the evil dictator and his morally reprehensible associates. Dramatizations do make it that much more engaging. it certainly shows how the intoxicating allure of power can draw out profound inhumanity in some people, and how intra-group rivalries, manipulations and maneuverings in such an atmosphere can be fascinating.

“Hitler’s Bodyguards” is another deep dive into Nazism and the Third Reich that should serve the interests of history buffs well. He did manage to survive some 40 attempts on his life. The various cadres that served to protect him were oddly aided by their rivalries and machinations. Physical security measures like armored travel transport – Netflix also has a short doc on his train, “Hitler’s Steel Beast” – and an intentionally unpredictable schedule plus sheer luck did save him from death, something that would have radically changed history.

Speculation that Hitler did not die by suicide in his Berlin bunker in April 1945 has been a strong undercurrent since then. The three-season History Channel series now streaming on Hulu, “Hunting Hitler,” takes an almost exhaustive look at how he might have escaped from war-torn Berlin and the routes he might have traveled and means he could have used to get to South America, and where and how he might have then lived. But the way that members of the team researching the theory leap to near-conclusions and the structure of the series – after every segment and what’s obviously a place for a commercial break, resulting in irksome reiteration of what we just saw – became exhausting, and I put the series on hold for a bit.

Instead I’ll soon screen “Downfall,” the acclaimed German docudrama about Hitler’s last 10 days in his bunker, streaming on Showtime. For now I’ll continue to buy that it’s where he died. But alas, his strains of evil continue to infect mankind.

Populist Picks

TV Comedy Special: “Tambourine” by Chris Rock – Fatherhood and age have brought us a kinder, gentler Rock, whose sometimes savage yet on-target observations in previous specials invoked side-splitting laughs. Now in his latest special it’s more chuckles with the occasional howl. But he remains a trenchant commentator on life and the human condition whose humor is therapeutic.

CD: The Final Tour: Bootleg Series Vol. 6 by Miles Davis & John Coltrane – This four-disc set is drawn from a European tour in 1960 on the heels of Davis’s landmark Kind of Blue album was Coltrane’s last stand as a member of the Davis Quintet after five years working together. There’s a bit of push and pull between the two jazz giants – you can feel ‘Trane preparing to soon start his own group and make his mark – backed by masterful players, all of it superb music from what was the most dynamic era of modern jazz.

Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas. Email orca@prismnet.com.

From The Progressive Populist, August 1, 2018

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