Hitler's Children (film)
Encyclopedia
Hitler's Children is a 1943
American
black-and-white
propaganda
film made by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed
by Edward Dmytryk
and Irving Reis
from an adaptation by Emmet Lavery of Gregor Ziemer
's book Education For Death.
The film stars Tim Holt
, Bonita Granville
, and Kent Smith
. One of the most financially successful films of RKO Studios, the film is also known for its brutal, graphic overview of the Hitler Youth
, and of two people indoctrinated into it.
School, where young Germans are indoctrinated in Nazism
. During a brawl between the student bodies, American-born German Karl Bruner (Holt) objects when German-born American Anna Muller (Granville) smacks him on the rear with her baseball bat. Despite their awkward introduction, he is attracted to the feisty girl. She is an American citizen, but her parents sent her to be educated in their former homeland. Soon, Karl, Anna and Professor Nichols are good friends, though they do not see eye to eye politically. After a while though, they lose touch with each other.
Six years later, as war looms in Europe, Karl, now a lieutenant in the Gestapo
, removes students of the "wrong" nationalities from the American School. Anna herself is taken away, even though she is a twenty-year-old assistant teacher; because she was born in Germany to German parents, she is regarded as a German citizen.
Nichols tries hard to find her, but the American consulate is powerless to do anything, and Anna's grandparents are too frightened to help. Finally, his friend Franz Erhart (Lloyd Corrigan
) suggests that Nichols get permission from the Ministry of Education to inspect a certain labor camp where she is probably being held. When Nichols goes to see Dr. Graf (Hans Conreid), he chances to meet Gestapo Colonel Henkel (Otto Kruger
) and his aide and protege, Karl. Henkel gladly approves his request, but in private, Karl tries unsuccessfully to persuade Nichols to change his mind by informing him that Anna has become a model German. Nichols does not believe him. When he finds Anna at the camp, he is proved right. However, she discourages him from trying to rescue her, as it would be too dangerous and stand little chance.
Meanwhile, Karl recommends her for an advanced "Geopolitik" course at a German university, but when interviewed by Henkel and Dr. Graf, she vehemently turns down the opportunity, suspecting that it is intended to turn her into a spy against America. As a result, she is sent back to the camp and is demoted from the staff to a mere laborer. Henkel, after receiving many reports of her anti-Nazi
behavior, decides she should be sterilized
, as are all women who do not fit the Nazi mold. When Karl learns of this, he tries to get Anna to pretend to be a good Nazi, or even to bear his child to prove her usefulness to Germany, but she refuses.
She runs away from the camp, eventually reaching the city, where she hides in a Roman Catholic church. However, a search party finds her there and takes her away, despite the protests of the anti-Nazi bishop (H. B. Warner
). Henkel orders her to receive ten lashes as punishment, sending Karl to witness it. After the second lash, Karl cannot bear it any longer and stops it, though he knows he has doomed himself as well as Anna.
He pretends to have realized his mistake and recanted. Henkel arranges for a nation-wide radio broadcast of the trial and promises Karl full honors at his funeral. Meanwhile, Professor Nichols is ordered to leave Germany immediately or he will be arrested as an accessory to treason. At the airport, Nichols hears Karl use his opening statement to denounce Hitler's Germany before the young man is shot and killed. Anna is murdered as well as she rushes to Karl's side.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film made by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
and Irving Reis
Irving Reis
Irving Reis, born May 7, 1906, in New York City – died July 3, 1953, in Woodland Hills, California, was a radio program producer & director, and a film director.Reis was the creator of the experimental anthology program on the radio, Columbia Workshop...
from an adaptation by Emmet Lavery of Gregor Ziemer
Gregor Ziemer
Gregor Athalwin Ziemer was an American educator, writer, and correspondent who lived in Germany from 1928 to 1939, during which time he served as the headmaster of the "American School in Berlin." After fleeing Germany, Ziemer returned to his wife Edna's hometown of Lake City, Minnesota...
's book Education For Death.
The film stars Tim Holt
Tim Holt
Tim Holt was an American film actor perhaps best known for co-starring in the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.-Early life:...
, Bonita Granville
Bonita Granville
Bonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
, and Kent Smith
Kent Smith
Kent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
. One of the most financially successful films of RKO Studios, the film is also known for its brutal, graphic overview of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
, and of two people indoctrinated into it.
Plot
In 1933 Berlin, Professor Nichols (Smith) runs the American Colony School, which is next door to the Horst WesselHorst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
School, where young Germans are indoctrinated in Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. During a brawl between the student bodies, American-born German Karl Bruner (Holt) objects when German-born American Anna Muller (Granville) smacks him on the rear with her baseball bat. Despite their awkward introduction, he is attracted to the feisty girl. She is an American citizen, but her parents sent her to be educated in their former homeland. Soon, Karl, Anna and Professor Nichols are good friends, though they do not see eye to eye politically. After a while though, they lose touch with each other.
Six years later, as war looms in Europe, Karl, now a lieutenant in the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, removes students of the "wrong" nationalities from the American School. Anna herself is taken away, even though she is a twenty-year-old assistant teacher; because she was born in Germany to German parents, she is regarded as a German citizen.
Nichols tries hard to find her, but the American consulate is powerless to do anything, and Anna's grandparents are too frightened to help. Finally, his friend Franz Erhart (Lloyd Corrigan
Lloyd Corrigan
Lloyd Corrigan was an American film actor, producer, screenwriter and director who began working in films in the 1920s...
) suggests that Nichols get permission from the Ministry of Education to inspect a certain labor camp where she is probably being held. When Nichols goes to see Dr. Graf (Hans Conreid), he chances to meet Gestapo Colonel Henkel (Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger was an American actor who began his career in 1915. His career was most prolific during the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:...
) and his aide and protege, Karl. Henkel gladly approves his request, but in private, Karl tries unsuccessfully to persuade Nichols to change his mind by informing him that Anna has become a model German. Nichols does not believe him. When he finds Anna at the camp, he is proved right. However, she discourages him from trying to rescue her, as it would be too dangerous and stand little chance.
Meanwhile, Karl recommends her for an advanced "Geopolitik" course at a German university, but when interviewed by Henkel and Dr. Graf, she vehemently turns down the opportunity, suspecting that it is intended to turn her into a spy against America. As a result, she is sent back to the camp and is demoted from the staff to a mere laborer. Henkel, after receiving many reports of her anti-Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
behavior, decides she should be sterilized
Nazi eugenics
Nazi eugenics were Nazi Germany's racially-based social policies that placed the improvement of the Aryan race through eugenics at the center of their concerns...
, as are all women who do not fit the Nazi mold. When Karl learns of this, he tries to get Anna to pretend to be a good Nazi, or even to bear his child to prove her usefulness to Germany, but she refuses.
She runs away from the camp, eventually reaching the city, where she hides in a Roman Catholic church. However, a search party finds her there and takes her away, despite the protests of the anti-Nazi bishop (H. B. Warner
H. B. Warner
H. B. Warner was a British actor.-Early life:He was born Henry Byron Charles Stewart Warner-Lickford in St John's Wood, London, England in 1875...
). Henkel orders her to receive ten lashes as punishment, sending Karl to witness it. After the second lash, Karl cannot bear it any longer and stops it, though he knows he has doomed himself as well as Anna.
He pretends to have realized his mistake and recanted. Henkel arranges for a nation-wide radio broadcast of the trial and promises Karl full honors at his funeral. Meanwhile, Professor Nichols is ordered to leave Germany immediately or he will be arrested as an accessory to treason. At the airport, Nichols hears Karl use his opening statement to denounce Hitler's Germany before the young man is shot and killed. Anna is murdered as well as she rushes to Karl's side.
Cast
- Tim HoltTim HoltTim Holt was an American film actor perhaps best known for co-starring in the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.-Early life:...
as Lieutenant Karl Bruner - Bonita GranvilleBonita GranvilleBonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
as Anna Miller - Kent SmithKent SmithKent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
as Professor Nichols - Otto KrugerOtto KrugerOtto Kruger was an American actor who began his career in 1915. His career was most prolific during the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:...
as Colonel Henkel - H.B. Warner as The Bishop
- Lloyd CorriganLloyd CorriganLloyd Corrigan was an American film actor, producer, screenwriter and director who began working in films in the 1920s...
as Franz Erhart - Erford Gage as Dr. Schmidt
- Hans ConriedHans ConriedHans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
as Dr. Graf - Gavin MuirGavin MuirGavin Muir , was a British actor and musician probably best known for his role in the 1983 Television version of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Muir had small parts in various television programmes including The Bill, Thieftakers, Cracker, Jo Brand and Our Friends in the North...
as Nazi Major - Nancy GatesNancy GatesNancy Gates is a retired American film and television actress.-Film:Gates, born in Dallas, Texas, entered acting at a young age, receiving a contract with RKO at the age of 15. Her first screen appearance, uncredited, was in the 1942 film The Magnificent Ambersons. That same year she had her first...
as Brenda