In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian and Ukranian Armies closing in from the west and south. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his Generals and advisers to fight to the last man. "Downfall" explores these final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting from their beloved Fuhrer, in an effort to save their own lives, while still others (Joseph Goebbels) pledge to die with Hitler. Hitler, himself, degenerates into a paranoid shell of a man, full of optimism one moment and suicidal depression the next. When the end finally does comes, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
Written by Anthony Hughes {husnock31@hotmail.com}
During the letters montage, Magda Goebbels is seen writing a letter to her son, Harald Quandt (there is a picture of him in front of her), by her first husband, industrialist Günther Quandt. He was her only child to survive the war. In 1944, as a Lieutenant in the Luftwaffe, Quandt was injured and captured by the Allies in Italy. He was released in 1947 and later died in an air crash in 1967.
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Goofs
Revealing mistakes:
Immediately when Chapter 7/Fall of the Third Reich begins, there are two German soldiers driving a motorcycle with side car. On the right side is a fresh pile of dirt that is covering an explosive underground, supposedly to look like an artillery shell instead.
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Quotes
[first lines]
Traudl Junge:
I've got the feeling that I should be angry with this child, this young and oblivious girl. Or that I'm not allowed to forgive her for not seeing the nature of that monster. That she didn't realise what she was doing. And mostly because I've gone so obliviously... See more »
Crazy Credits
After the final credits there is a statement by the real Traudl Jung about
her feelings of guilt and responsibility.
In the British Cinema release, this is moved to before the credits.
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