DOC NYC film review: 'The Meaning of Hitler'
(Image courtesy of DOC NYC.)
The documentary 'The Meaning of Hitler' (screening at DOC NYC 2020) outright shatters the misconception that evil cannot rise to power ever again by illustrating history repeating itself in modern times.
In short: Sebastian Haffner’s 1978 German best-selling book 'The Meaning of Hitler' is juxtaposed against the current climate of white supremacy, antisemitism, and the weaponization of history.
'Meaning' lives in three distinct time periods: the Third Reich of the 1930s, Haffner’s written words in the late '70s and the emergence of far-right leading to 2020. Haffner’s book was written decades after the Reich's demise - after the world had stepped back and let enough time to pass to write a post-mortem on the Führer. His distance allowed for a sober analysis of evil and why evil arose to power - yet the horrors of World War II was still fresh enough to feel raw. Filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker applies the stark warnings within Haffner's book to modern nationalist leaders that have taken power around the globe.
Epperlein and Tucker draw a straight line between the mythical representation of Adolf Hitler and the echoes of Hitler's speeches heard loudly, proudly repeated by modern nationalists. It deconstructs the "legend" of Hitler that has endured in the decades after his death, making the argument that this sustained, macabre fascination is every bit as toxic and dangerous as the beliefs he espoused as Führer.
This self-aware doc explores the very nature of simply making a film about Hilter - because the Nazi leader has become figure of hero worship. Epperlein and Tucker explore the line between objective historical analysis and the fetishism of Hitler. And somewhere lost in the years since Hitler's suicide is a loss being repulsed by the man and the gradual normalization of a man responsible for the deaths of millions. 'Meaning' finds new urgency as aging Nazi hunters and historians are in their 80s and 90s - while a new generation playfully rebrands Hitler as a taboo figure ripe for memeing. But most importantly, 'Meaning' reveals that the modern far-right is not overtly creative or original - modern nationalists are simply cribbing from the playbook of propaganda and lies Hitler used to rise to power.
Final verdict: Frankly, it's chilling to hear Haffner’s warnings from more than 40 years ago about a man who died almost 80 years ago so easily apply to modern leaders seemingly created from the same mold.
Score: 5/5
'The Meaning of Hitler' screens during DOC NYC 2020. This documentary not yet rated and has a running time of 91 minutes.
